War of the Immortals: Payon's Gift
by Link015
Summary: In the continuing war between Immortals and humans, who will be victorious? Only the gods know, as another town is pulled into this conflict by the unlikeliest of opponents. Plans go awry and tensions increase as even more problems arise.
1. Introduction

Well, this is my first fic here, and I hope it's good enough. Anyway, I asked Tom Valor if I was able to use his Rune-Midgard world in my fic. Well, he said yes, so now I'm making a fic that's based off of his world. Like Tom Valor as well, I'm making an introduction. At the beginning, it'll be really short, so yeah, you don't need it yet. But later, when everyone shows up, then maybe you might need this. And if Tom Valor lets me continue this by writing about the other immortals, then yeah. You might need this. But for now, it's not really necessary at the moment.

I do not own anything. This version of Rune-Midgard and the current history of it belongs to Tom Valor. The game, Ragnarok Online belongs to Gravity Inc. The only things that I own here are the character and maybe some other stuff that I put in it. That's it.

_**War of the Immortals: Payon's Gift**_

**I. Introduction**

The battles between the immortals and the humans of Prontera rage on. Many brave people have fallen in the Pronteran army and some heroes in particular have risen in fame. However, in a different area of Rune-Midgard, a group of friends are making their own bid for renown. Two young friends, both just achieving their own ranks within the world, embark on a quest that might decide the safety of the Mountain Village of Payon. They will meet many others, but until they meet up, they must make sure they stay alive.

**II. The Cast (as of now)**

**1. Niklason Tirin **- A young man from Alberta, he has fond dreams of becoming a master of the sword and of battle. While he may be young, Niklason believes that he will be able to help out in the current war that ravages the area around Prontera. He has yet to achieve his stripes as a warrior, but if he can pass his swordsman test, he will finally achieve what he has always wanted. Niklason is a quick study, eager to learn the ways of the sword. However, he is not renowned for his patience in the swordsman guild and he often criticizes others for their mistakes. His short temper has landed him in serious spots before, and probably will land him in more. Even though he doesn't seem like the most battle worthy individual, he won't abandon his friends if they have a problem and if someone insults him, his family, or his friends, Niklason will make sure that person will pay. He's not much of a leader type, due to his rash nature and over-confident attitude towards battle.

**2. Radella Maeklin - **She's a young girl from Geffen and a friend of Niklason. She's extremely studious and often will go without food or drink if whatever she is studying is interesting enough. When she is engrossed in a book or teaching, anyone who would interrupt her will receive scathing glares and angry rebukes. She tries to restrain her nature with her friends and people that she respects, however. When she's not around a book, she is cheerful and slightly reckless. She isn't afraid of lesser enemies, but when confronted with a huge problem, her confidence suffers a lot and she starts getting extremely scared. This state is due to an incident where she and a friend were attacked by abysmal knights when training near Prontera. Since that incident, she has vowed to become stronger so that no one will have to see what she did.

**3. Alexstrazos Liakos - **Alexstrazos is a rogue who mainly lives life just to see how many things he can accomplish before he finally meets his grave. His greatest joy is being able to pickpocket others, and even though he's often caught, he treasures those moments in his mind. He wishes that someday, even though it might not be likely, he will be able to make his own thieving guild. He doesn't want to move to assassinations like the NightKnife guild has, but to just stick to plain, honest thievery. He operates around Payon, but actually doesn't steal much. Ever since he's been shackled to Niklason and Radella, he's tried to restrain his urge for stealing, but his fingers often get him in trouble with the local merchants. He likes long-distance fighting, and will often use a bow instead of a dagger. His attitude often earns him the ire of Niklason and they usually get into fights.

**4. Carylesti Dephalous **- A fierce huntress with a weakness for games and drink, she's not one who really appreciates having lots of responsibilities. She takes her job seriously, but doesn't allow it to hamper her carefree lifestyle. She's known Alexstrazos for much of her life, and half of that time was because she kept throwing him in jail. Because of their frequent meetings, they've become more like friends instead of rivals or enemies. She hates having to studiously think about things, preferring to delve into the problem and find a solution through action. Although she may seem uncaring about her friends, deep down inside, she does care for her charges, although she does not show it to the people around her. She's a skilled warrior, having been a few major battles of her own, and she proudly flaunts her experience to others. She has an older brother, Elindasin, that she's extremely fond of. She often treats him as a child, even though she is the younger one.

**5. Elindasin Dephalous - **A priest from Prontera, he takes his job and station extremely seriously, abiding to the rules and regulations set by the church. He is extremely uncertain about his abilities in battle, though, and while he tries his best, he's always plagued by the thought that he will mess up some day and cause the deaths of his friends and family. He is extremely serious, and won't hesitate to scold someone he feels is being careless or reckless. Elindasin is often at ends with his sister because his serious and pious nature is almost the exact opposite of his fun-loving sister. He respects his sister and the path she has chosen in life, and tries not to meddle in her affairs too much. The priest takes his duties as an older brother very seriously, and tries to keep her from doing anything too stupid. He does not like Alexstrazos' thieving ways, and tries in his own way to persuade him to stop, even though Niklason, his sister, and Alex himself have told him that it was hopeless. He also wishes that his sister would take her job a little more seriously, considering she is in charge of the defense of an entire city.

**6. Sylvia Rionen - **A blacksmith from Payon, she has a quick eye for merchandise and a quicker eye for thieves. She's kind, caring, and extremely dangerous with an Alex. Continuously makes threats to Alex's life if she sees him anywhere near her things. Is fond of young children, mostly teenagers, and doesn't hesitate to give away some of her things for a worthy cause. Despises people who cheat and steal their way to victory and idolizes those that do hard work. Loves to create new things in her forge, even though these things aren't the most practical or ideal. One can usually see her trying out a new design for a sword or axe, only to watch as she destroys it and starts making another one. Her axe is one of her own designs, and it's probably the only thing she hasn't destroyed yet, due to her exuberance.

**III. The Payon Militia**

**Archer Division of Payon - **The Payon Militia was formed when ferocious monsters from the nearby Payon Caves attacked the inhabitants of Payon. While they were eventually defeated with the help of some visiting warriors, the attack had spurred on the creation of a force that would be able to defend Payon from attack. Since the archer guild is nearby, the Payon Militia is mainly formed of archers. A few hunters and huntresses lead the militia and so far, the militia has adequately performed against raids from the monsters in the Payon Caves. The huntress, Carylesti Dephalous, heads this militia, although she often remarks that she would rather be out drinking or gambling.

**IV. The Army of Alberta**

With the influx of Izuldian refugees, the swordsman guild was moved to Alberta. After spreading their tales of horror and destruction, the people of Alberta decided to create their own standing force, just in case there was an attack on Alberta as well.

**1. First Swordsman Division - **The first swordsman division is staffed by the most experienced of swordsmen from the guild. The members of this division are close to becoming knights, and are most adept at using a lance. They believe that the lance, with its longer reach, will be an advantage against those wielding shorter weapons. They fighting style revolves around using the lance to be able to strike from farther away, and when in contest fights, using the lance to trip an enemy. The division lacks a commander, but since there have been no attacks on Alberta just yet, no one has got around to appointing one.

**2. First Merchant Division **- While merchants usually shy away from fighting, some brave individuals have decided to make a merchant division just in case some extra power is needed. The merchants wield a variety of weapons, from axes, to swords, to maces. However, this division rarely sees battle, since it is kept as a reserve unit. Its commander, Zefielys Conatan, is an alchemist, not a merchant, and the commander is known for her never-ending search for the perfect combination of ingredients to create the perfect potion.

**V. The Immortals**

**1. Turtle General - **The turtle general is currently entrenched in Turtle Island, and isn't making any moves on attacking. However, the people of Payon and Alberta still see him as a threat, and live in fear that one day, the turtle general will rise and attack their cities.

**Note from Chris (author person): **I'm glad you took the time to read this. It will get larger, trust me. Anyway…It may seem that I'm directly copying from Tom, but I must say that isn't true. My fic will be based around Payon and Alberta while his is centered on Prontera. Both of our fics occur in the same time period, just different locations.

Also, later, you might notice that Tom and I have different writing priorities. I usually go for the laugh first, and then action second. However, don't think that this fic is just going to be jokes and pranks. That is far from the truth. This is going to be as serious as Tom Valor's, except mine is just going to have more comedy than battles. I hope you enjoy this fic, and I sincerely wish that it matches up to Tom Valor's writing as well. However, unlike Tom Valor, I am extremely slow at updating my fics. I will try to speed this one up a bit, but I already have another fic I wish to finish, so this one might move slower than you're used to.

If any of you could give me information on the Turtle General, I would be very grateful. I have never encountered this immortal or MVP before, and any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.


	2. Can You See the Light?

All right! The first chapter is here! Anyway, I have reader reviews up front, unless there's a ton of them. Then they'll be at the bottom. So, here we go!

**Tom Valor: **Thanks for the support! I'm glad you like what I have so far, and I'll make sure the coming chapters are just as good! Even though the first one was just an intro...

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**Chapter 1: Can You See the Light?**

"_Wow! This is great. With just a bit more training, I'm sure we'll be able join the ranks of the warriors!" Two novices, a boy and a girl, were training south of Prontera. The girl smiled at her friend's enthusiasm and brushed back some of her dark brown hair. She held her dagger loosely in her hand and a light wind blew past her, ruffling her hair and clothes. _

"_Now, come on, Rakthos. We're not **that** good yet. After all, I'm planning to studying magic, so I'm not the strongest girl around and you're not known for Herculean strength either." The girl scanned the countryside, looking for any easy monsters to kill._

"_Hah! Well, that might be true, but we'll be fine!" Rakthos grinned back. "Don't put a damper on my high spirits, Radella." The boy spotted a lunatic hopping not far from where they were. "Come on! Let's go!"_

_The two children rushed up towards the small rabbit and began swinging their daggers at it. Rakthos's first swing missed the lunatic completely while Radella's slash hit the lunatic, but it didn't kill it. The rabbit, now knowing the danger it was in, bared its small fangs and tried to bite Rakthos. He yelled in surprise and lashed out with his foot. He caught the lunatic straight in the stomach and it flopped back, blood leaking out of the small cut that Radella had given it. It hopped back up and launched itself at Radella, who swung her dagger wildly and managed to stab it in the side. The lunatic's corpse slid off of the dagger and flumped to the ground._

"_Yay! We did it!" Radella jumped happily and hugged Rakthos. The boy flushed in embarrassment and scratched his head. _

"_Heh heh…Come on, Radella…Don't embarrass me like that. Come on, let's go find another monster to fight." Rakthos freed himself from his partner's hug and searched for another creature, hopefully another lunatic. His eyes spotted a poring hopping not too far away. He grabbed Radella by the arm and ran for the poring. _

_The small jelly creature didn't notice the two novices approaching and continued hopping in its own path. The poring blinked and hopped more, coming closer to the two novices._

"_Ha! You're mine!" Rakthos swung his dagger at the unsuspecting poring, but just as the dagger was going to plunge into the poring's body, it exploded in his face._

"_Eeuck! What happened?!" Rakthos tried to wipe off pieces of pink goo from his face. He managed to get rid of most of it and turned to his partner. Radella was speechless, staring at something behind Rakthos and her eyes were wide with terror. The boy slowly turned around and faced something he had read only in classes he had taken. Standing in front of him was an abysmal knight, a monster renowned for its toughness and lack of scruples. _

_Rakthos gulped and backed away slowly, his weapon about to slip from his sweaty hands. The abysmal knight rode closer and closer. The knight's dark-bladed sword lifted above his head and swung down to slaughter the two novices. They both screamed in terror and ran away, hoping for escape. The boy's hand reached for the girl's and grasped it, hoping that they would be able to evade the abysmal knight and reach safety in the town of Prontera._

"_Come…on…Radella. It's…huff…a little more to run…" Rakthos jumped over a fallen log and was about to continue dashing when he spotted another black armored figure in front of him. Panicking, he turned to the left, only to see more abysmal knights blocking that way. Spinning around, his terror increasing, he saw that their last escape route was blocked. They were surrounded by abysmal knights and the knight that was originally chasing them rode up._

_Rakthos gulped again and gripped his dagger with his shaking hands. He, no, both of them, had to find a way out of this. He felt Radella shaking behind him and tried to comfort her a little. _

"_Don't worry…I've got a plan." Rakthos whispered into her ear. "I'll try to distract them and you make a break for it, okay? I'm pretty sure I can hold them off…At least for a while." Rakthos put on a brave face, although he felt anything but brave. Turning to face the leader, he waved his dagger around defiantly and yelled at him._

"_You think you guys are so tough! Let's see how you fare against me!" Rakthos's grip wavered a little, but he regained his courage and hoped that Radella would be able to escape in time. 'May God grant me strength for this.' As he faced the leader, he noticed that the knight had lowered his sword. He leaned to Radella, hoping to instill her with a little more confidence. "Now's our chance…Radella…Try to escape by going towards Prontera. I'm sure you can make it in time. I'll do the best I can. I'll be right behind you. Trust me." _

"_Why do wish to fight us when you have no chance of winning?" The lead knight looked at Rakthos. The other knights shifted on their mounts, clearly discomforted from their usual schedule of killing._

"_What kind of question is that?! It's so I can protect my friends!" Rakthos faced the knight again, holding his dagger high. "I won't let you harm her!"_

"_I see…Very well then." The knight nodded and charged forward. Rakthos trembled at the sound of the horse's hooves pounding closer and closer. Radella readied herself to run, hoping that Rakthos would be behind her, like he said. But instead of sweeping his sword at Rakthos, the knight plowed into the abysmal knight that was blocking their way to Prontera. He turned to the novices for one second before trying to attack the other abysmal knights. "Run, children! Run!"_

_They needed no bidding. They sped for the gates of Prontera, Radella in the lead and Rakthos behind her. Radella heard a gasp behind her and turned quickly. What she saw stunned her and almost sapped her will to continue running. Rakthos had a black-fletched arrow embedded in his back. He smiled slightly at Radella before falling, his blood seeping through his clothes and armor. _

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Radella sat up in her bed, clutching her chest. Her breath was coming out slowly in gasps and a cold sweat had broken out over her skin. Looking around, she realized it was only a dream. She was inside her room in the magic academy and numerous books and scrolls were stacked around her. She flopped back down on her bed, calmed slightly. "It was only a dream…only a dream…" Her gaze stayed at the ceiling, unwilling to go back to sleep.

'But that's the third time I've had that dream this week…And it keeps getting more real every time. I can almost hear Rakthos's gasp of pain…' Radella stood up and grabbed her clothes. She slipped into her robes and fastened her cloak around her neck. "I don't need these nightmares now…Especially with the big exam coming up…This might determine if they let me graduate and become a full class mage." She lit a gas lamp that stood on her desk and brushed away the various books and scrolls from the desk. There was only one spell she felt she needed to remember.

"Thunderstorm…" By all means, she shouldn't have been able to cast this spell. And she couldn't. But that didn't faze her. She felt that as long as she understood the workings and the abilities of a spell, she would be able to cast it someday. So she continued her study with this spell, which called for thunder and lightning in the sky and concentrated it in one area, dealing horrendous amounts of damage, not counting burns that might result for the supercharged energy.

When the sun rose, Radella had finished studying the spell. 'I don't think I can cast the spell just yet…But later, I probably will able to. I just need to get stronger in my mind and my spirit.' She closed the book and placed it on a bookshelf that stood at the side of a wall. She unfastened the cloak because it had gotten warmer and stretched her arms. She blinked her blue-green eyes and ran her hands through her hair. Today was a big day for her. The teachers at her magic school required that each graduate-to-be cast one basic spell or at least explain what it was supposed to do. Radella was confident that she would pass. After all, she had spent a lot of her time studying each of the spells.

She stepped outside of her room and was immediately greeted by one of her friends. Niklason was short-tempered, rash, and over-confident, but he was a good friend of hers. They had both been friends when they were studying and training to hone their basic skills. He had comforted her when she had run to the novice's guild, sobbing and crying over the death of Rakthos. Tears sprang into her eyes as she remembered that incident again. Shaking the tears out her eyes, she walked to Niklason and was hugged by her long time friend.

"Haha! It's an important day for you, huh?" Niklason grinned and patted Radella on the back. "Today you're going to become a mage, correct?!"

"Yes, yes, of course, Niklas. Don't worry about me." Radella smiled back at him and grasped the wooden staff she held in her hands. "I'm going to do great! But…Don't you have somewhere to go as well?"

"Huh? I do?" He thought for a while, running through his head for anything he could have missed. He froze and started panicking. "Oh crap! I do have something to do! I need to get to Alberta for my swordsman test!" Niklason started pacing, trying to think of a way he was going to get there in time. "Ah! Uh, do you have a butterfly wing?! Ever since the immortals have started attacking Prontera, it's become impossible for people to go anywhere near that city!"

"Of course, it's all yours." Radella handed two small butterfly wings to Niklason, who grabbed them gratefully.

"Thanks! I owe you one!" He waved them in the air a couple of time and disappeared. Radella smiled at her friend's antics. In addition to the faults he had already, Niklason was absent-minded. He often didn't concentrate on the task at hand if there was something more interesting nearby. But that didn't happen a lot, so Radella just dismissed it as one of his quarks of nature.

The clock struck 8 o'clock and Radella headed for her class. She was one of the four students that would be taking the graduation exam, and she didn't want to miss out just because she was late. She entered the classroom and saw that the other three graduating students were there, all looking extremely nervous. She sat at her seat and ran through the various spells in her mind again. It was until the teacher had called her name for the 3rd time that she snapped out of it. She glanced around the room and saw that everyone was snickering at her. The other three graduating students were looking proud and were decked out in their new clothes, proof that they had passed the test.

"Now that Miss Radella has snapped out of it, would you please come to the head of the class?" The teacher motioned impatiently with the staff that he carried in his hand. Radella flushed red and headed for the front. She stammered out an apology and stood in front, a feeling of failure sweeping through her.

"Now, would you cast these spells? Fire Bolt, Ice Bolt, Thunderbolt, and Sight in that order, please?" The teacher motioned to a practice dummy that they would be able to use their spells on.

Radella nodded and concentrated on the first spell, Firebolt. 'This spell uses the power of fire to consume and destroy things in its path…So, to harness the spell, you must know the feeling of the spell…Whether it is a spell of destruction, courage, anger, or foresight. I've got to focus on this spell. The spirit of fire has always been known as an angry being so…' She balled one of her hands into a fist and when she opened it, a small orb of fire was floating above it. She tossed it into the air and it formed a spear, which plunged into the dummy, setting it ablaze.

"Good work, Miss Radella. Ice Bolt, if you please?" The teacher jotted down notes on a piece of paper and he examined her spell casting.

Radella closed her eyes and remembered another lesson she had read about. 'Ice is cold, unfeeling…Its one focus it to insure survival, nothing else. To harness the power of ice, one must be as cold as the ice that he is summoning.' Her eyes snapped open and she moved her hands so that they resembled someone shooting something out of them. The air around the next dummy chilled and a pillar of ice formed in the sky and crashed into the figurine.

"Excellent job. Now, Thunderbolt?"

Radella was elated. She had already completed a half of the spells that she was supposed to perform and the teacher said that they were good. Radella controlled her excitement so she could focus on the next spell. 'The power of lightning is strong. It takes people of courage to brave the threat of lightning, which is always erratic and never predictable. I just need to control this force for a couple of minutes.' Her hands moved again. However, this time, her left hand was above her right. A small lightning bolt traveled from her left hand to her right. In complete coordination, a lightning bolt erupted from the air and crashed into the third test dummy.

"Perfect form. Now, for the last one, Sight."

Radella nodded. Out of all of the spells, Sight required the most concentration. However, there were no gestures or words that one needed to say in order to complete the spell. 'Sight requires one to open his or her mind to see the spirits hidden in the shadows. The power of foresight, which this spell confers, is all someone needs if they wish to explore the hidden realms.' Two balls of light erupted around Radella and rotated in a steady pace, shedding light around the room. Her gaze followed the lights and she spotted a shadowy figure. The figure smiled and waved at her. Radella couldn't help but notice that the figure looked very familiar.

"Perfect job, Radella. I'm glad that my top student was able to pass. Now, your mage clothes are lying on the desk. I hope you'll become a successful worker of magic. And don't forget to give homage to The Source. Some people might dismiss that as legend, but in this school, legends have a way of coming true. So don't forget about The Source, as someday, you might find it."

Radella picked up the bundle of clothes that marked her as a mage. She held them to her chest, smiling brightly. 'I finally did it…I can't wait to tell Niklason!' She left the room and she noticed that the shadowy figure from before was following her. She increased her pace a bit and entered her old room. Now that she had graduated, she would have to move all of her books out. Not that she had many, though. The only three things that she truly treasured in her collection was a book about old legends, one explaining the theories of magic, and the final one was an old photo album. She placed them all in her sack and changed into her new clothes. She put on her cloak again, feeling that the outfit was a little too revealing and turned to leave.

'I'll miss this place…It was fun studying here.' Radella looked up and saw the figure standing in her doorway. She stopped in surprise and glared at the figure. The Sight that she had cast was still in effect and the balls of light continuously rotated around her head, giving off an aura like a halo. "Who are you?!"

The figure moved closer and smiled. "Ah…Radella…Can you see the light?" The figure pointed to a small ball of fire that seemed to move of its own accord.

"Well…Duh?! It's above your head now! But stop stalling! Who are you?" Radella grasped her staff, which had been imbued with magic power ever since she had graduated.

"You can see it! You're more interesting than I though, young lady. We shall meet again." The figure bowed and vanished, like it never existed. Radella scratched her head in puzzlement and shrugged.

"It was probably just an illusion…" Radella picked up her meager belongings and left the magic school, where she had finally become a mage. Now she wanted to meet up with Niklason, in Alberta. She grabbed her last remaining pair of butterfly wings and waved them, disappearing in a puff of wind.

"She will be most interesting indeed." The figure grinned at the glowing ball of light, which moved up and down, mimicking a nodding gesture. "Ah, you agree! Let's see where she will head next, my friend." The figure and ball of fire disappeared once again, the only witnesses being the air and sky.

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How was that? I sure hope it was good enough. And yeah, I made a different graduating procedure than in the game. But hey, this is a different type of world, so I thought that it would work in it. The next chapter should be up by the end of this week, hopefully. 


	3. Power and Courage

Well, another chapter, once again. I'm updating this faster than my others for reasons unknown so far. I don't know why, really. Anyway, reader reviews as usual.

**Kiyoko-chan:** Heh, thanks. I'm glad you like it so far. I sure hope it continues like this. And yeah, the mage test seems to have to do nothing with magic.

**PMOHWinters:** Wrong chapter, man. You're thinking of like the 5th chapter. You're way off.

**Skye Mihalak:** Thanks for reviewing and…Nice sig thingie.

**Tom Valor: **Heh, thanks for liking my version of the mage test. And yeah, the mage test is very, very boring. I don't get it whatsoever. And do you mean Thunderstorm or Thunder Bolt?

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**Chapter 2: Power and Courage**

Niklason appeared in the center park of Alberta. He immediately rushed towards the Swordsman guild, which had situated itself near the Merchant Guild for convenience. He rushed up the stairs, praying to the gods that he wouldn't be late. His short blue hair blew in around his head and partially obscured his vision. As he made a last, frantic dash for the door, he crashed into someone and fell heavily on the cobblestone street.

"Ow! Crap!" Niklason sprang up and brushed off some dirt and dust. He turned to the person he had knocked down. "I'm really sorry and all…But watch where you're going next time!" Niklason turned and dashed into the Swordsman Guild. The woman he knocked down picked herself up and grumbled.

"No respect for the commander of the Merchant Division…I'd like to show him a thing or two. It's too bad I'm looking for something." She pulled out a list of herbs and ingredients and checked off a box. "Hm…Just a little more. I'm sure my potion will work this time!"

Niklason ran into the guild and bushed back the gates that let to the training arena. He picked up a training sword and headed for the center. When he got there, the first words her heard were, "You're late!"

Niklason flushed red in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, sir!" He stood up straight, gulping nervously. The drill sergeant that trained the apprentice swordsmen was extremely tough and didn't like it at all when people showed up late. His brown eyes shone in the semi-darkness that covered the arena.

"I'm sorry, sir!" The drill sergeant walked up to Niklason and repeated the words with a mocking tone in his voice. He stood in front of Niklason and looked him over. "Sorry doesn't cut the mustard, puke! You can't go to battle late and say, 'I'm sorry!' No! Now drop and give me twenty, puke, and I want to see you sweat!"

Niklason dropped to the ground and began doing push-ups. He grunted as the sergeant placed a wooden beam on his back.

"Come on, Niklason! You have enough strength to lift that beam as well! Or are you just a little girl! A little girl that wants to run crying to his mommy!" The drill sergeant circled around Niklason, mocking him and berating him. The other recruits, or pukes, as the sergeant named them, were busy practicing with swords in a mock battle. Some of them looked sympathetically at Niklason, who was struggling with his push-ups.

Niklason trembled with rage as he heard the drill sergeant mock him. His face was reddening with anger and he completed another push-up before falling to the ground, panting. The drill sergeant kicked him in the stomach before starting with another set of insults.

"Shut…up…" Niklason pushed himself from the ground and leaned on his knees, gasping for air. He spotted the wooden beam next to him and one of his hands reached out for it.

"What's that, you say? You want to go home to your mommy?! You want to leave?! Weakling!" The sergeant continued to harass Niklason, who had grabbed the beam with his left hand. "Momma's boy! Go run home crying to your mommy!"

"Shut up about my mom!" Niklason swung the beam like a bat, aiming for the sergeant's ribs. His target shifted slightly and caught the beam with one of his hands. "No one can talk about her like that! And especially not about me! So shut up!" Niklason dropped the beam and swung his fist and the sergeant's head. He dodged and grasped Niklason's arm with his other hand.

"Ah….You've got spunk. I like that." The sergeant smiled. He held onto his student's arm for a little longer and let it drop to the ground. "You're going to need that energy and strength. Don't waste it on fools like me. Use it to defeat the monsters that are attacking us. Did I ever tell you why I became a drill sergeant?"

"No sir, you didn't." Niklason looked curiously at the sergeant, his anger fading. Their instructor rarely ever talked about his past and when he did, it was usually about hair-raising fights and ferocious battles against the monsters that lurked in Rune-Midgard.

"Heh…Well…That's a story for another time. I'll tell you when you graduate."

"Yes, sir!" Niklason picked up his training sword and brushed off more dirt that had become stuck to his clothes. "Um…Sir? Today is the day that I'm supposed to take the test, remember?"

"Of course I remember, Niklason! Now, come on! You'll soon be leaving and you're not a bad fighter! But we need to see how your other skills are. Because of this, I'll be giving you a different type of test. It will consist of four battles. The first two are you against a couple of easy monsters and then the third battle is against a tougher monster. In this, two of the trainees will be under your command. You're going to have to find a strategy for defeating it. And finally, at the last battle…I'll keep that as a surprise." The sergeant walked off, calling for two other trainees. The two that were chosen ran up, and at the sergeant's order, went to stand at the side. The rest of the aspiring swordsmen left the arena.

"Okay, Niklason! First monster is…A Spore!" The sergeant pulled on a cable and one of the iron doors that ringed the arena opened. Out hopped a Spore, one of the monsters that a traveler encountered in the route between Payon and Alberta. The mushroom-type creature hopped to the middle of the arena and looked around.

"Die!" Niklason rushed up with his sword, cutting downward. The sword caught the Spore on its cap, and bounced off without much effect. The Spore noticed this new danger and released a bunch of seeds at Niklason.

The seeds flew into his face and exploded, leaving behind a couple of different colored clouds of dust. Niklason covered his mouth and coughed, trying to walk out of the smoke cloud. The spore jumped and rammed him in the stomach, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground, the sword jarred out of his grip. He rolled to where his sword was and grasped the hilt. As the spore continued to hop towards him, Niklason swung to sword at the body, managing to slice into the mushroom being. The spore squeaked in pain and swung more seeds at Niklason.

"Once, maybe, but never twice!" He dodged the seeds and swung the sword horizontally, slicing through the monster at the bottom of its cap. The spore crumpled to the ground, various seeds falling out of its body. Niklason leaned against his sword, panting from the fight.

"Good work, puke! Next monster, ready!" The sergeant pulled on another cord and another pair of doors opened. This time, a pair of willows appeared. Niklason grimaced. Willows weren't the strongest of monsters, but their wooden bodies withstood slashes from swords extremely well. They approached Niklason, their wooden feet scratching against the sandy floor of the arena.

"Just great…" Niklason stood and swung his sword at the closest willow. The blade scraped against the wood, leaving a scar, but nothing else. The willow swung a fist at Niklason, who jumped to the right. Just as he landed, the other willow hit him in the side, sending him sprawling. Niklason grunted in pain and staggered up. His sword was still too short to be able to get in close and dodge back out. He spotted a spear leaning against the edge of the arena and ran for it.

"This should do." Niklason dropped his sword and reached for the spear. He grasped the cool, wooden handle in his hand and turned to face the willows again. Using the spear's superior reach, he stabbed at the first willow and pierced it, causing it to explode. Wood chips flew everywhere and some of them cut his face and arms. The second willow took one of the vines that was hanging on its body and began using it as a whip. The willow swung it at Niklason's face and caught him in the chin.

He staggered back, tasting blood from a cut across his cheek. He swung the lance like a bat and smacked the willow, causing little damage but luckily knocking the willow backwards. Niklason went on the offensive, stabbing again and again with his lance, catching the willow on the hand, leg, chest, and face. Standing over the willow, Niklason prepared to end its life.

"No one can defeat me! Maybe if I didn't have to kill you, this would be different, but its not! With this, I'll show that I'm not a weakling!" Niklason plunged the lance into the willow's chest again, and when it exploded, Niklason spotted a small glowing faerie floating out of the remains. It circled around Niklason once and then settled into his pouch that hung around his belt.

The sergeant nodded in approval. "Great use of using the surroundings for help! Now, Ranithan! Yunthik! Go to the center and help Niklason like you would help your commanding officer! This is your team battle, and I don't want to see anyone faltering!" The sergeant pulled on another cord and a third door opened. The two trainees stood by Niklason, who was trying to figure out what was hidden behind the door.

Out from the door hopped a little poring, trying to look as fierce as possible. Niklason pointed his lance at the floor and looked incredulously at the sergeant. "A poring?! Are you insulting me?!"

However, the sergeant looked just as confused as Niklason did. "A poring? How'd that get there?"

The poring hopped forward a little bit more, but then it disappeared as it was swallowed up by a giant bird. The bird's beak bit into the poring and shattered it. It let out a loud squawk and charged at Niklason. Its red eyes gleamed fiercely as it swung his beak at the unprepared trainees, who jumped to the side.

"A PecoPeco!" Niklason kept a firm hold on his lance, glaring at the giant bird. The two trainees were shaking, clearly unused to fighting a monster of this toughness before. The sergeant noticed this and grinned.

"Come on! You guys wouldn't last you first battle! You'd piss in your pants first! Show me that you're ready for this!"

Niklason hefted his spear again and spoke instructions while still watching the giant bird. "Okay, Ranithan? You go to the bird's left. Yunthik, you go to the right. I'll attack from the front. When you hear me say, 'Go!', I want you to start attacking it. Don't sweat it. We'll do fine." The two trainees behind Niklason nodded fearfully and moved to their locations. Niklason faced the peco peco, which was busy tearing the ground with its sharp beak. Niklason walked forward, slowing breaking into a run. The peco peco raised its head when Niklason swung his lance at it.

"Go!" Niklason plunged his lance into the peco peco's chest, hoping that his allies had heard him. He was gratified to hear the two novices yelling hoarsely and slashing at the peco peco in the sides. The bird shuddered, extremely angry that he was getting attacked. It tried to move, but Niklason was keeping it from moving with his lance. He had gained a foothold in the ground and he didn't want to budge. The two novices continued to swing their swords at the bird, both of them still terrified and swinging with pure adrenaline.

Niklason shoved harder on the lance and the bird finally collapsed, dead. It had numerous wounds and cuts across its body. The two novices stared blankly at the peco peco and when they finally realized that it was dead, they flung away their swords and hugged each other, sobbing with joy. Niklason smiled, glad that this battle was over. But then he remembered he had one last battle to fight and straightened.

The sergeant clapped as he walked up to them. "Good work! A good, simple strategy that worked. Flanking the monster on both sides was a nice stroke of genius. And being able to halt the bird when it wanted to attack the novices sure proved your strength. Well, Ranithan, Yunthik, take a break." The two novices bowed and clapped Niklason on the back before leaving the arena.

"What is the last battle, sir?" Niklason looked at the sergeant, feeling almost ready to drop. His muscles screamed for rest and it was only courage and excitement that kept him standing on his feet.

The sergeant pulled out a falchion that hung from his waist. "Your last battle….Is with me! If you can disarm me before I disarm you, you graduate! I can disarm you twice. Once with the lance and once with the sword. Good luck, puke, and show me your power!" He charged at Niklason, swinging his sword at Niklason's waist. Niklason blocked it with his lance and felt the impact through his arms. Niklason shuddered, his blue hair now drenched with sweat. He pulled his lance out and swung it at the sergeant's arm. The sergeant blocked his blow again and chopped the lance stave in two.

"Come on, Niklason! I thought you were stronger than this! Pick up your sword and fight like a man!" The sergeant pointed at the sword, which was still lying on the floor. Niklason hurried over there and picked it up, feeling his arms begin to ache again. He swung his sword at the sergeant again and felt his blow be countered by the sergeant. Niklason tried again, raining blow after blow at his opponent, who blocked them all.

"You call yourself a swordsman?! My grandma can hit harder than you! And she's dead!" The sergeant continued to insult Niklason as he blocked every one of his blows.

Niklason trembled, flames of rage burning in his eyes. "Grr….That's it! It's on, now! I'm going to defeat you if that the last thing I do! Prepare to lose!" Niklason swung his sword at the sergeant again and again, not caring about strategy. Unbeknownst to him, however, the little faerie that hid in his pouch earlier was floating above his arm. Some sparkles flew from her hand into Niklason and then she fled back inside the pouch. He felt some more strength returning to him and he swung his sword with all his might. The sergeant, who was already tired from blocking all of the blows, felt the falchion fly out of his hands at Niklason's last blow.

He smiled. "Good work, Niklason. You've finally become a swordsman." Niklason dropped his sword, watching the sergeant's falchion hit the ground. He smiled and the sergeant, who clapped him on the back, nearly knocking him to the floor.

"Good work, son! I knew you could do it. You just needed a little extra push."

Realization downed in Niklason's eyes. "Wait…You insulted me so I would work harder?"

The sergeant nodded as he led Niklason out of the arena. "Of course! If I know anything, anger can sometimes be a powerful motivator. Since you graduated, I think it's time I tell you of what happened." The sergeant paused as he searched for an old memory. "I used to be part of Prontera's army, you know. Well…one day, my scouting force was attacked by a large group of monsters. Well, the people in my group weren't the smartest knights around. They were too over-confident, and soon, they were cut down because they took the battle too casually. I don't know how they got into the army, but as I saw them die, I felt a new force overtaking me. My vision was dimmed by a red haze. I remember striking down every monster that cut down my friends. I returned a hero, coming back alive after that ferocious attack, but I resigned my commission soon after that and decided to become an instructor so the new members of the army won't let their guard down." The sergeant clapped Niklason on the back again. "I'm glad you take battle seriously, son…It's too dangerous a time to think war is a game. Well, now that you've graduated, I'd like you to take your pick of the weapons."

Nearby, on a rack, lay weapons of different types. There were steel-tipped lances, javelins, some katanas, a mace or two, and a wide variety of swords and daggers. Niklason looked them over and reached for katana. He felt the sword to make sure it was sharp and took a few practice swings. He was satisfied and turned to the sergeant. "I'll choose this."

"Good choice. I hope you have luck in surviving, and when this war is over, I hope you come here and tell me everything that happened." The sergeant walked away, entering a smaller training room. Niklason grinned as he heard the sergeant bark at the novices again.

"You say you're done?! Well, you're not done until I say you're done and you won't be done until I'm in my grave! Now, continue training! You can sleep when you're dead!"

Niklason shook his head and left the Swordsman guild, his new katana strapped to his waist. The little faerie floated out of his pouch and settled in his hair. Niklason didn't notice the faerie, however, and continued walking. He pulled out his new katana and looked over the blade again, wondering where he would go now. He had an idea of his next destination, but first he wanted to ask Radella. He smiled as he remembered the sergeant and silently wished him good luck in the hazardous times ahead.

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How was that? Sure hope it was good. And yes, I changed the swordsman test too. Oh, and what happened to the sergeant happened a long time before the war of the immortals began. 


	4. A Faerie’s Light

Well, here's another update. It would've been up earlier, but I've been caught up in game stuff. Playing RO and Disgaea. Stuff like that. Anyway, here we go with the next chapter.

**Skye Mihalak: **I'm glad you like the humor in this fic…I'm best with humor. Humor is great. And I'd appreciate it if you would teach me.

**Tom Valor: **Oh…Hmmm, okay, I can use that for Lightning Bolt. And yeah…I kind of neglected describing the sergeant because he probably isn't going to be that important. I might bring him back later and then I'll describe him more then. For a basic description, he's a retired knight with blond-gray hair. And…Hmm…I didn't think about that. I needed something to kill the Poring though. And a PecoPeco is pretty hard to defeat alone.

**Kiyoko-chan:** Yeah…None of the RO promotion tests make any sense. Except for the merchant one. Which really isn't that merchanty anyway. And…Hmm…Yeah, you're probably right. I'll try to go into more detail with tougher fights from now on.

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**Chapter 3: A Faerie's Light**

Niklason strolled towards the exit of Alberta, whistling a jaunty tune. He didn't notice that people were chuckling at him and pointing at the little faerie perched atop his head. The faerie was humming as well and doing a small dance on top of Niklason's head. Niklason ignored all this, however. He had just become a Swordsman, and he felt like running around and screaming for joy. However, he restrained his urges and calmly walked towards the exit.

From behind him, he heard running and yelling so he spun around, ready for a fight. He was clearly surprised when Radella rushed up to him and threw him in a tight hug, wrapping her arms around his back. The blue-haired youth stumbled backwards, finally tumbling to the ground. "Whoa! Radella! What's up?"

"I became a mage! See?! Look at me!" She leaped off of him and twirled around. Niklason smiled at her enthusiasm and picked himself off of the floor, wiping himself off. Radella proceeded to hug Niklason again and jump around him, chanting, "I'm a mage now! I'm a mage now! Whee!" The faerie decided to join in the fun and began jumping around Niklason's head.

After a while, Radella calmed down and noticed that Niklason was wearing a new sword. She gasped with happiness and hugged him again. Niklason grinned and patted her on the head. "Heh, boy are you happy today. It's nothing, really. The battles were tough, though."

Radella nodded and let go of Niklason. Then she stopped and stared at the faerie that was dancing on top of Niklason's head, making a little bed of blue hair. She started chuckling at the faerie's antics, who was now sitting on his head and waving at her. Radella waved back and giggled.

Niklason looked quizzically at his friend. "Uh…Radella? What are you doing?"

The brown-haired girl stopped and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I was just waving at something on your head."

Niklason felt his hair, but the faerie dodged his hands and fluttered over his head. He moved his hands through his hair faster and found nothing. "Are you sure there's something on my head? It's not a spider, is it? You know how I hate spiders!"

"It's not a spider! Really!" Radella waved her hands, shaking her head. "I don't think the thing on your head is dangerous."

"I don't care! Just as long as it stays off my head! No wonder people were laughing at me as I left the Swordsman guild! Grrr…When I get stronger, I'll show 'em to not laugh at me!" Niklason searched over his head again, but his fingers just missed grasping the faerie. The faerie let out a small chuckle and settled on Niklason's head again.

"Um…Niklas? It's on your head again."

"Well? Get it off! And don't call me Niklas. I hate being called that." The youth tried getting the faerie again, trying not to blush as he head bystanders beginning to laugh again. While they were talking, people had gathered around them, watching their antics. Some of the more experienced people grimaced and spoke about the naïveté of young people. Others smiled and took pictures while one person actually had set up an easel and was painting them.

"Break it up, break it up!" The alchemist that Niklason had run into earlier now appeared again, breaking up the crowd. "You people have work to do, you know! Just because some couple decides to celebrate their promotions in the middle of the street is no reason to gather around and take pictures!" She walked up to the person with the easel. "And no painting!" She swiped the portrait and dropped a small bag of gold on the artist's lap. "Here's 1,000 zeny. Thanks for the painting."

People grumbled and made mock insults as they left the area. They didn't like to show it, but they were fond of their First Merchant Division commander, even though she was a bit eccentric. They slowly filed away, leaving a very embarrassed duo. Radella coughed and cleared her throat while Niklason scratched the back of his neck, looking awkward. The faerie finally decided to make its presence known to the swordsman, so it flew down and hovered in front of his face.

"Whoa!" Niklason stumbled backwards, staring in astonishment at the little faerie and the pixie responded by waving and jumping up and down in the air. After he got over his initial astonishment, he leaned in closer to see what the faerie looked like. The faerie had long, green hair and wore a simple dress. The little wings on her back flitted rapidly as the faerie looked at Niklason with red eyes.

"Oh…Hello there." Niklason waved at the creature. "Can you talk?"

The faerie shook her head sadly.

"Well…Do you want to come with us? We're planning on going to Payon to see the militia there."

The faerie nodded energetically and settled back on top of Niklason's head. Now that that issue was settled, the two companions and their little faerie friend left Alberta, the Merchant's Villa and headed for Payon, land of the Archer.

----

Not far from the exit, Niklason held up a hand and stopped his friend. "Hey, wait up."

The mage looked at him, and then at the faerie who had secreted herself in one of his pockets. "What's the problem?"

"Didn't you hear? The animals around this area have gotten a lot fiercer ever since the war. There's a big danger that we might be attacked here, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to protect you that well. I'm sure I might be able to take down some of the solo, but I don't know about you." The swordsman unsheathed his new katana as he looked at Radella.

"Thanks for the support. But don't worry, with you at the front, I'm sure we'll be able to do fairly well. And I did pick up some potions while I was at Alberta." Radella opened her pouch and showed Niklason a bunch of bottles stacked together in a container.

"Well, if that's the case…Then come on! Let's go!" Niklason grabbed hold of Radella's hand and dashed into the forest. Crunching sounds erupted as they stepped on dead leaves and branches on the ground. But eventually, Niklason stopped running and began to act more cautious. Radella noticed this, and began readying the main-gauche that she had obtained. Because she was an apprentice mage, she didn't feel like she was able to cast spells in the middle of combat. So, to remedy this, she decided to fight in direct hand-to-hand combat first to experience it. Then, she would be able to focus during a battle the next time.

Hissing sounds erupted from one of the bushes nearby and a boa sprung out and wrapped around Niklason's leg. He yelled in surprise and slashed wildly with his katana, nearly severing his foot. His next swing was more controlled, however, and he managed to create a long gash on the side of the vicious snake.

Radella stood at the side, at a loss of what to do. The snake hadn't started to squeeze his leg yet, but it was close enough that she was afraid that she might accidentally hit Niklason instead. She took a chance, however, and stabbed at it. The main-gauche plunged into the boa's side, sticking in the snake. The snake let out a loud hiss and swung its fangs into Niklason's leg. He screamed in pain and severed the snake's head, instantly killing it.

"Damn snake!" Niklason sat down and began unwrapping the snake's loose form from his leg. He also pulled out the snake's head and flung it away from him, wincing as he saw the blood seep out of the two small wounds.

Radella rushed up to him and began searching for the various potions she kept in her pouch. Niklason shrugged her off and gingerly tested his leg. He found that he would still be able to stand, although it would hurt if he tried to walk. "Nah, it's okay. I don't think it's poisoned. Come on, let's go. We need to head for Payon before nightfall." He limped off, Radella following him.

After a couple of more battles with the animal life in the Payon Forest, the small village was in sight. The battles had severely taxed their strength, however, and Niklason's sword hung tiredly from his hand. Radella was panting and both of them were covered with dust. They had used a lot of their potions coming here, and while a potion might cure wounds and cuts, it couldn't restore energy.

"Phew…We almost there, huh? I told you we'd make it! Just a little longer!" Niklason grinned triumphantly, sweat dripping down his hair. Radella smiled tiredly.

"I can't wait till we can find an inn…I'm pooped."

As they were nearing the entrance of the town, however, a pack of 3 wolves jumped out from behind some trees. They growled at the two travelers and inched forward, spittle flecking out from their bared fangs. Niklason held his sword up defensively and risked a glance over his shoulder. Radella was there, hurriedly reading one of the spellbooks she had saved. Radella had finally decided that she was strong enough to use the spells and had performed admirably in some of the later encounters.

'I don't understand why wolves would be out here, but I'm going to kill them all!' Niklason gripped his sword a little bit tighter and then rushed at the wolves. "Nothing's going to stop me from getting into that town! Prepare for oblivion!" Niklason swung his sword at the first wolf, which had dodged to the side, receiving only a small cut.

"Wait!" Radella shouted at him. "Boys!" She then began repeating the words of the spells in her head and formed her hands into the lightning bolt symbol. Light flashed and the wolf that Niklason had tried attacking yelped. Some of its fur had been burned off and some patches had caught on fire. It whimpered and backed off for a while before closing in again. 'Damn it! Still not strong enough!' Radella readied another spell as the wolves went on the offensive.

Niklason's sudden rush had caught all of them off-guard and afforded his side a couple of extra hits. However, the wolves retaliated fiercely. One of the wolves ran at the Radella while the other two ganged up on the swordsman. Niklason grunted as one of the wolves swiped at his chest. He quickly swung his sword to block the blow and succeeded in slicing the wolf's paw off, blood spurting onto his armor. He swung his katana again, this time killing the wolf as the sharp blade plunged into the wolf's body and cutting it in half. Some of the blood landed in his eyes, and he frantically started wiping it off. He had just finished when the second wolf leaped at him and knocked him down on the ground. His breath left him in a whoosh as he toppled to the ground, his sword landing a few feet from him.

He swung his foot and connected with the wolf's rib cage before it was able to hit him. He leaped up and searched for his sword. He found his katana nestled in a bunch of plants and was going to get it when the wolf leaped up again and sank its fangs into Niklason's sword-arm.

"Shit!" Niklason yelled in anger before picking up his sword with his off hand and swinging it at the wolf. He managed to hit, but the blow was so weak that the wolf barely noticed it. The wolf bit harder and Niklason got his revenge by dropping his sword and punching it in one of the eyes. The wolf let go of his arm and stumbled to the ground, whimpering. With his sword arm out of commission, the swordsman resorted to wrestling and street fighting. He landed another kick on the wolf and sprung at it.

While Niklason was fighting, Radella was having a couple of problems of her own. She had tried launching a Fire Bolt at the wolf, but it dodged the lance and leapt for the girl's throat. She dodged to the side and tried a lightning bolt. It succeeded, barely. The electricity had only shocked the wolf for a few seconds, and it had leaped do the attack again, this time slashing her leg with its claws. She winced before drawing out her main-gauche and swinging it at the beast. It clacked off of one of the wolf's fangs and cut it off. The wolf cried out and struck out at Radella again, clawing deep marks across her chest.

She screamed and threw an ice bolt at the wolf. The solid block of ice landed directly on the beast, crushing its spine and killing it. Blood slowly pooled around the mage and she looked for a potion in her pack. She located one and drank it, feeling the potion do its work. Her wounds were closing a little, but she was extremely tired and could only watch as Niklason fought against the last wolf. She watched as he dealt the killing blow against the wolf as he threw it against a tree. He panted as he stood up. He grinned tiredly at Radella before falling on one knee, coughing.

She nodded but then noticed something creeping up behind her friend. She was about to shout out a warning before something knocked her to the floor. Niklason sprung to his feet and rushed at the wolf that had knocked down Radella but he also fell down as another wolf leaped on top of him. He rolled to the side, but the wolf was on top of him before he could get up. He smelled the wolf's putrid breath and wrinkled his nose, even though he knew that there wouldn't be a way to get out of this.

'Sigh…This is so lame! I'm so going to yell at God if I get to heaven! But still…How did these wolves get so smart? They don't hide if they can just rush out…When did they learn these tactics?' Niklason winced as he saw the wolf's paw swipe towards his neck…

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Eh, I'm ending it here….Well, because I feel like it. You'll find out what happens to them later. And it's a comedy chapter next. Well, mostly comedy chapter. Review if you wish. I would have a more cheerful ending A/N, but I'm tried and sick. Drat. 


	5. You Stole Our Money! Jerk!

Whoo! I'm back. Ahem, anyway…Here's an update. Oh, and new character comes in. Have fun!

**Tom Valor: **Crap…Blah, I make too many mistakes. Oh well. Hope I do better in this chapter.

**Kiyoko-chan:** Heh, well, the mood caught me in a cliffhanger and it happened. Oops.

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**Chapter 4: You Stole Our Money! Jerk!**

Just as the wolf was about to slice Niklason's neck open, it let out a fierce howl and fell off of him. He looked up and saw some archers shooting the two wolves that had come out of hiding. The wolf was already dead when he lifted himself up, another 4 arrows embedded in its body. He spun around to see if Radella was okay and saw that she was being helped up by a female hunter. The wolf that had brought her down was dead as well, with even more arrows stuck to its hide. The huntress walked up to Niklason and grinned. Her green eyes gleamed mischeviously as she ran a hind through her reddish-pink hair.

"Hmm…You're lucky we were out patrolling the area. That wolf would have sliced your neck in two and your friend was almost going to have the same thing happen to you."

Niklason hmphed and turned around, mumbling. "I could have taken them…Didn't need your help…"

However, the huntress overheard him and grinned more widely. "Ah…Well, I guess you won't need these potions for you and your friend either. And enough money for some lodging and equipment either, right?" She reached down to her belt and pulled out a small bag. She dangled it in front of Niklason's face. "Are you sure you don't want this?"

Niklason glared, angry at being mocked. "We don't need-" The rest of his sentence was cut off as Radella, who had just limped up, covered his mouth with her hand. She smiled and nudged Niklason in the side.

"Of course we'd be glad to take it! You're a very generous person, Miss…"

"Carylesti. Carylesti Dephalous. I'm the leader of this pack of trainees." The huntress pointed at a small group of archers behind her, who were busy rejoicing over their victory.

"Oh…I'm Radella Maeklin and this is my friend, Niklason Tirin." She bowed. "I'm glad that you were here. You really saved our lives."

"No problem, but I'd rather be in the bar. Eh, duty calls, right? Well, wish you best of luck, and don't get ambushed by wolves. Okay, little one?" She leaned down and patted Niklason on the head before setting off with her patrol.

Niklason was seething with rage and he shoved Radella's hand off his mouth. "Why'd you do that?! We can handle ourselves without any outside help!" He glared at her.

"Well…We don't have a lot of zeny now. And we needed to pay for a room at the inn. And it would never hurt to pick up some supplies in the city." Radella opened up the pouch and gasped at the amount of zeny that was in it. "Wow! There's so much here! She must be really rich!"

"Hmph…We'd better find a place to stay then. It's getting dark." Niklason winced as he tried moving his sword arm. "Do you have any potions left?"

"Here. I already drank enough to heal my wounds." She handed the pack to Niklason, who rummaged through and found some. Giving her back the bag, he uncorked the bottles and began drinking the potions.

"Urgh…I know these things help us, but why can't they ever make them tastier?" Niklason threw a disgusted glance at the empty bottle before stuffing it in one of his pouches. They passed the giant walls that covered the village and entered Payon. It was getting dark, so many of the merchants were already closing their stalls and going to the various buildings that dotted the landscape. Radella found one that appeared to be an inn and tugged at Niklason, who was busy watching a dancer and bard that were performing nearby.

They entered the inn and looked around. It seemed to be nice enough, and there weren't any drunkards or bullies lying about. There was a stairway that led to the rooms and two doors that led to a common room and the kitchen. Niklason approached the counter.

"Ah, good sir. How many rooms?" The portly innkeeper bowed to both of them.

"Just two. And we'd like to have a meal sent up in the morning."

"Very good…Hmmm…Oh, I'm sorry. It appears that there is only one room left. All of the other rooms are currently reserved or occupied." The innkeeper bowed. "I am very sorry about this. Perhaps you wouldn't mind to be stuck in the same room? I will make sure that everything is in order."

Niklason looked backwards at his brown-haired partner. She blushed and fiercely shook her head. He shrugged and turned back to the innkeeper.

"Sorry…I don't think she wants a single room. We'll go search somewhere else. But if we can't find anything, could you reserve the room for us?"

"Oh, certainly, good sir." The innkeeper bowed to them. They left the building, searching for another inn that they could stay in. However, none of the other inns had openings, so they were forced to return to the inn from before. The innkeeper smiled as he saw them approach.

"Any luck?"

Niklason sighed as he approached the man again. "No…Fine, we'll take the room. How much?"

The innkeeper tallied the results. "Hmm…Only one hundred zeny. It would have been more, but I decided to lower the price since I couldn't accommodate both of you. Here's your room key." He placed a steel key on the counter. "Have a nice night."

Niklason nodded absentmindedly and set down a gold piece that signified one hundred zeny. The innkeeper palmed the coin. "Third room to your right." He pointed to where they could find their room and went back to his work.

The swordsman opened the door and looked inside, Radella behind him. It was pretty big for an inn room, and there was almost enough space to make it a two-person room. Radella headed immediately for the bathroom.

"I'm going to get washed up, okay? Don't. Come. In." She slammed the door before Niklason had a chance to reply.

"What? Not like I'd really want to…" Niklason sighed and sat on one of the wooden chairs that were scattered around the room. He searched his belongings for a whetstone and a cloth and spent time sharpening and cleaning his katana. He heard the door open and packed his stuff back inside his bags.

"You done?"

"Well, duh?" Radella snorted at the question. She had taken time to brush her hair and wash off all of the blood that had covered her body. "It's your turn, you know. I don't want to sleep in the same room with a person who looks like he had just come back from a slaughterhouse." She sat on another chair and began reading one of her books on magic. Niklason grunted and headed inside of the bathroom.

"Well…I guess this is okay." Niklason looked expressionlessly at the bathroom. It was fairly small, but it was stocked with everything you might need. There were a couple of buckets filled with fresh water, and a large, iron tub for taking a bath. He spent around a half hour washing his clothes and himself and then exited the bathroom.

Niklason took a glance at his friend and then sat on his chair, facing her. The room was darker now, since the sun had already set and the moon was high in the sky. Radella closed her book with a sigh. "Just when I was getting to a good part…" She looked up and noticed him for the first time. He gave her a small wave, and Radella blushed.

"Hey…Where's the faerie?" She looked around. The green-haired faerie from earlier didn't seem to be around.

"Oh, she's sleeping." Niklason opened one of his pouches and showed Radella. Inside was the faerie, breathing lightly and making little snoring noises.

"That's so cute!" Radella giggled. "We'd better let her sleep."

"No kidding." Niklason placed the pouch that contained the faerie on a desk. "Well, it's time for us to get some rest as well. Today was tiring." Niklason climbed out of his chair and lie on the ground, trying to get some rest. Radella looked at him in amazement and looked at the bed.

"Wait…Aren't you going to get the bed? I mean, you did fight the hardest."

Niklason waved a hand carelessly as he was on the floor. "Hah. Only a jerk would sleep on a bed while a girl has to sleep on the floor. Forget it. The bed's yours."

Radella smiled at her blue-haired friend and crawled on the bed. "Thanks, Niklas."

"Ah, no problem. And…Hey! I told you not to call me Niklas!" Niklason shouted, his voice slightly muffled his he was facing the floor. Radella chuckled as she pulled the covers up to her head. She closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

---

It was morning, and the two travelers and their faerie were walking down the streets of Payon, searching for a place where they could buy some cheap goods. Radella spotted a stall that had puppets stacked around it. She shrieked in joy and raced for the stall. Niklason sighed and walked behind her. "Sigh…Girls…All they ever want to do is shop."

The next hour was Radella rushing towards various stalls that had various plushies, dolls, and jewelry. Niklason kept a close watch on her, and made sure she didn't give in to the merchants' bargains and offers to lower the price. They finally reached the part of the "open-air market", as Niklason had dubbed it, that sold potions. He looked around at the various merchants that were trying to outdo each other and found a stall that seemed to sell goods that were cheap. Radella joined him later, the money pouch strapped to her belt.

"Ah, I see that you desire some of my potions. I ensure only the best quality goods!" The merchant smiled and opened his arms wide. "You won't find better prices anywhere!" They both examined the potions and agrees that they sure seemed to be good enough.

"Well, okay. How much for twenty red potions and ten orange potions?" Radella searched through her money bag.

The merchant totaled up the cost. "Ah…Only two-thousand zeny!" He merchant smiled and rubbed his hands.

"Hey! What're you doing back here?! I thought I told you to beat it!"

The merchant gasped and frantically looked around. He spotted a huntress walking up to him and thrust the bag of potions to Radella, taking the coins as well. "Nice doing business with you! I'm closed now!" The merchant shoved them both out of his stall and dashed off.

"Hey! Wait!" Carylesti ran up, but was too slow to catch up to him. "Dammit! This is the third time this week!" She kicked at the stall and knocked it down.

"Miss Carylesti?" Radella looked quizzically at the angry huntress. Carylesti turned around and smiled as she saw who was addressing her.

"Ah! The swordsman and mage from earlier! Um…Niklason and Radella, right?" The huntress grinned. "Fancy meeting you two again."

"Yeah, fancy…Hmph." Niklason grumbled angrily, still upset at the huntress for what happened yesterday.

"See your friend still is angry, huh?" Carylesti turned to Radella, who nodded.

"Yep, he's not always like this though…" Radella mumbled, embarrassed by her friend's behavior. "Um…What was that about that merchant?"

"Oh!" The huntress kicked the fallen stall again. "That guy's been around here, selling fake potions to people. I assume you got tricked too?"

"Fake potions?" Radella looked stunned.

"Yeah…He always pulls this trick. He always seems to be able to escape before I'm able to catch him. Grr…When I get my hands on him he's going to suffer…" The huntress clenched her hands. "Anyway, see here?" She pulled out one of the bottles in the package. She opened the cork and showed her the contents. "Looks like a real potion, right?"

"Yeah…" Niklason looked at it nervously, afraid that they had been tricked.

"Well, it's just water with red coloring. He does that with all of his potions…You two are his newest victims."

"Argh! That damn merchant! How dare he try to con us?! I'll show him! Next time I see him, I'm separating that slimy head from his body!" Niklason stomped around, releasing his newfound rage.

"Your friend has quite a temper." Carylesti pointed at Niklason, who was busy using his sword to slice the wooden stall to pieces. Radella nodded slowly, extremely saddened by the fact that someone had tricked her out of two-thousand zeny. Carylesti noticed this and patted her on the shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry. We'll catch him. Here, have this for now." The huntress gave Radella a small package. Radella opened it and saw a small kit with five red potions and five orange potions.

"Wow! Thanks! Geez, you always seem to help us! We really appreciate it!" Radella smiled happily. Carylesti grinned at her enthusiasm.

"No problem." Carylesti waved as she ran off, searching for the merchant. Niklason had finally finished venting his rage on the stall and walked back to his friend.

"Well, we'd better find a different merchant. And this time, we better not get tricked!" Niklason balled one of his hands into a fist.

"Yeah." Radella nodded and they searched for another potions vendor. As she was walking, however, she bumped into someone and was knocked to the floor.

"Ah!" Radella winced and rubbed her behind.

"Oh man! I'm so sorry!" A brown-haired rogue rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I hope I didn't hurt you!" He helped her up. "I'm Alexstrazos. Alex for short. Geez, sorry about that." He flashed a quick smile at Radella. He had a wide-brimmed hat on and wore a bunch of pouches on his belt. He had long, blue pants and was wearing standard rogue gear and armor.

Radella blushed as the rogue took her hand. She bowed her head and stuttered, "O-Oh…Um…It-It's okay. Really!" She continued to look at the ground, extremely nervous. Niklason leaned over and looked at his friend, astounded by her weird behavior. Alex laughed.

"Well, it's nice meeting you, young lady. And you, young swordsman." He tipped the brim of his hat to both of them and walked off, whistling. Niklason saw him enter a local bar and kept the location in his mind.

"Um…Radella? Radella?" Niklason waved a hand in front of her face. She was staring at where the rogue had gone with a dreamy expression on her face. He walked in front of her and began making faces. People walking by gave strange glances at the duo, but otherwise didn't bother them. Niklason sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He had tried everything other than yelling in her ear and she still wasn't reacting. He sighed again and decided to just whisper something in her ear that would probably snap her out of it.

"Radella…I love you." Niklason whispered this in her ear, and got the desired reaction. She jumped up and looked at him with an amazed expression on her face.

"Wha?! Niklason! Do you really-?" Radella began blushing again. Niklason grimaced. He wasn't expecting this…Well, not really expecting this.

"No…It's just…You kept staring at that rogue! Geez, you were standing there for around 10 minutes just staring! I had to find a way to snap you out of it." Niklason walked off a little, his hands behind his neck.

"Oh…Okay. Fine then." Radella smiled faintly. "Well, are we going to go?" She reached down to look at their money bag. "Hey…Wait…"

"Huh? What is it?" Niklason walked back.

"My money pouch…It's gone! All the money that huntress gave us is gone!" Radella searched frantically through her bags and pouches, but the pouch that contained the zeny that Carylesti had given them was gone.

"B-But how?! We had it earlier! Right before we…bumped into that rogue…Oh…That little ass!" Niklason balled a fist.

"W-Wait…You mean, that rogue stole our money? Alex? He wouldn't have done that, would he? He seemed so charming."

"Yeah, well, sometimes charm hides things. Come on! Let's get our money back!" Niklason grabbed Radella by the arm and rushed towards the bar he had seen Alex walk into. He slammed open the doors and spotted the rogue drinking at a counter not too far away. The rogue turned at the noise and saw the swordsman and mage from earlier.

"Ah! You guys again! What's up?" The rogue waved at the both of them, a big grin on his face. There were several empty mugs in front of him and there was a half-empty mug in his hands.

"You stole our money, you thieving bastard!" Niklason ran up to the rogue and socked him in the face. Alex rocked back a little, but didn't fall from his seat. He used his free hand to rub the spot where Niklason had hit him.

"Hey! What was that for?!"

"You stole our money! What did you do with it?!" Niklason was set to give the rogue another punch in the face when the barkeep arrived.

"Hey, hey! It went to a good cause!" Alex raised his hands disarmingly, placing the mug that was in his hands on the counter.

"Here's your tab, Alex." He placed the slip of paper on the counter and left to wait on other customers. Niklason leaned over Alex's shoulder and staggered back when he saw the price.

"You spent all of our money on beer?!" Niklason looked too outraged or stunned to bring himself to sock Alexstrazos again.

"Yep! You want some?" Alex shoved the mug towards Niklason.

Niklason wrinkled his nose and stepped backwards. "No! I'm underage, dammit!"

"Since when has that ever stopped anyone?" Alex shrugged. "Well, if you don't want it, I'd better drink it. Don't want your money to go to waste."

Niklason snapped. He jumped on top of the rogue and tackled him to the ground. Soon both of them were fighting, using the various furniture and furnishings to knock each other out. The rest of the patrons either joined in, or if they weren't strong enough, placed bets on the outcome of the fight. Radella leaped away from the fighting and stood near the door, worried about who she should be cheering for.

"Please…Please! No fighting!" The barkeep cowered from behind the counter, trying to stop the fighting. No one paid attention to him, however, and he soon ran off to try to get the militia.

"Hey! What's going on here?!" The huntress from earlier, Carylesti, burst through the doors, the barkeep behind her. Seeing that this could turn into a full-scale riot, she picked up a beer bottle and starting conking it on heads. Seeing the militia commander, the mages gave a groan and took back their zeny.

After bashing a couple of more heads, Carylesti found the two people who were responsible for the fight. She was about to toss the beer bottle away when she noticed that it hadn't broken, even though she must have thumped around twenty heads with it. She shrugged and tossed it aside. It thunked against a wall and landed on the floor. She sighed as she got a good look at the two fighters.

"You again?" She hauled Alex and Niklason and surveyed their sorry forms. Niklason was sporting a black eye and various bruises covered his body. Alex seemed okay, if you discounted the fact that blood was leaking out of his nose and one of his arms was numb.

"Grr…Alex! I told you not to cause any more fights! Sheesh!"

"Hey! It's not my fault! The kid here started it!" Alex pointed an accusing finger at Niklason, who tried to jump at the rogue again.

"You stole our money and used it to buy booze! I could have used it to get some armor, you know!" Carylesti held him away from Alex and handed him over to Radella, who tried to calm him down.

"Alex, Alex, Alex…Dammit! This is the third time you've been in a fight because you stole someone's money! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

The rogue gave a grin and shrugged. "Uh…It was worth it?"

The huntress gave a short laugh. "Hah, yeah right. Well, what should we do to punish you?"

"Well, there's always the jail?"

The huntress shook her head. "No…I think the jail is a little too tame for you. How about…" Her head turned and she grinned as she spotted Radella wiping some sweat off of Niklason's face. "I've got it. Since these two have a perchance for trouble…You're going to go with them and make sure they're okay."

"WHAT?!" Alex and Niklason shouted this out at the same time. Niklason broke out of Radella's grip and they both pointed at each other.

"These shrimps?! You've got to be kidding me!" Alex groaned.

"This drunkard! That's torturing us more!" Niklason shouted at the huntress, waving his arms.

"Well, Alex might seem like a bit of a thief, but he is a strong fighter and he knows most of the basic cons so you won't get tricked again. I'd say you two make a good pair."

"SHUT UP!" Alex and Niklason yelled at her at the same time and Carylesti hid a smile.

"Have fun!" Carylesti laughed as she left the bar, which was mostly in shambles. The barkeep stalked towards the rogue, shaking violently.

"Grr! You've wrecked my bar! I demand payment! This damage totals around one hundred thousand zeny! Come on! Fork it over!"

"Uh…Heh…I seem to have spent all my money…I don't suppose that you two will cover for me?" Alex gave a nervous chuckle and looked at Niklason. He stood stunned for a while, before shuddering with rage.

"You…You…Dammit!" Niklason rushed at Alexstrazos, getting the both of them into another fight.

* * *

Here it is. It's a little bit longer, but it's funny. And I'll be updating the intro later. Review please! 


	6. A Night on the Town, not the

Chris: Well…I finally got off my lazy ass and decided to update. Whoo. So…Yeah. Updating thisas wellmy other two "high-priority" fics. Actually, one is an original thing I'm trying out. But enough of that. I'm sure you guys want your story. Anyway, reader reviews and then the chapter.

**Tom Valor: **Ooops. I just found out where I had put the numeral instead of the word after I posted that. Sorry about that…And I'm glad that you like how Niklas and Radella act.

**Kiyoko-chan:** Hmm…I don't know…Do you think it's going to be a pairing? Can't tell you if it is now. Cause I'm still not sure.

**Zhang Kai: **Ooooh, thanks for the info. And thanks for the praise.

* * *

**Chapter 5: A Night on the Town, not the Jail**

After the incident, wait, no, make that two incidents at the bar, Niklason, Radella, and Alexstrazos were finally able to have quality bonding time for themselves.

"Dammit Alex! For one, we are not going to steal from people! And two, we are not going to be your apprentices!"

"But come on, Niklason! I could use two henchmen like you!" Alex looked pleadingly at Niklason, who folded his arms.

"Henchmen?!"

"Uh…I mean…My right-hand man…and woman."

"I'm not going to steal, Alex." Radella looked at Alex, her face apologetic. "It's taken me a long time to become a mage. I don't want to ruin it by starting thievery."

"Sigh….What about you, Niklas?"

"Absolutely not! And don't you start calling me Niklas also!"

"Dammit…How am I ever going to make my own guild without any members?" Alextrazos sighed, then his face brightened for a while. "Well, since you guys still don't have any equipment, let's go to the stalls and see what else we'll find! I'll make sure you guys won't get conned….again!" He dashed off, Niklason running behind him, yelling curses. Radella sighed and slowly walked behind them.

The mage found her two companions at a weapons shop. Niklason was looking at the various swords in awe, hoping to be able to find a second weapon to compliment his katana. As for Alex, he was looking at the display of arrows, wondering which one would be perfect for that arbalest bow that was strapped on his back.

'Hmm…Oredicon arrows…They look kind of nice. I'll just…look at a couple.' His hand reached out to look at some of them when an axe thudded near his hand. The blacksmith that was minding the store smiled pleasantly. Her dark-blue eyes glinted dangerously.

"How would you like trying to string that bow with one hand?" The blacksmith pried the axe off the table and pointed it at the rogue's head. "Or perhaps you would be able to smell with a nose?"

"Uh…Heh…While that would be interesting…I will have to politely decline." Alex backed away, chuckling nervously.

"Moron…" Niklason muttered under his breath as he examined an ash-wood pike. He lifted it from the stand and tested it out. It was fairly heavy, as portions of the shaft had been covered with iron to make it stronger. Plus, the pike head was longer and wider as well. "Hmm…" He decided to test it out, giving it a few practice thrusts.

The blacksmith watched Niklason as he practiced with the pike. "Ah…Just starting out, huh? Well, the pike's good for stopping cavalry, I'll say that." She leaped over the counter and picked up another lance. "Now…How do you plan on using that? As a thrusting or slashing weapon?"

"Well…Probably thrusting…I have my katana for everything else." Niklason looked at the blacksmith, who nodded.

"Well, if you want a good weapon, that pike is the best for you. So, you going to get it?" The blacksmith pointed at the pike in Niklason's hands.

"Yeah…Luckily I kept _some_ of the money in my pocket." Niklason grumbled as he pulled out a pouch. "How much?"

"Hmm…I think I like you, kid." She smiled, then slammed the axe near Alex's hand again. Alex had been reaching for some more arrows while the blacksmith and Niklason had been talking.

"Whoa!" He jumped back, nearly scared out of his wits. "I was just looking!"

"And what makes you think I would believe that?" She walked up to the rogue, her axe resting on her shoulder.

"Uh…I'm honest?" Alex gave the blacksmith one of his best smiles and kept his hands behind his back, trying to stop them from reaching for the arrows again.

"Hah! Like I should believe that." She smirked. "Try stealing my goods again and I'll make sure you lose more than just your wits, okay? And you'll have to learn how to shoot a bow with one hand!" Now that Alex seemed unlikely to cause anymore trouble, she turned back to the swordsman. "For the price of…One thousand zeny, that's yours."

"Wow! Thanks a lot!" Niklason handed her the money and picked up his new lance. He ran his hands over the ash haft and scrutinized the pike head. Nodding satisfactorily, he looked around for some place to put it. "Wait…How am I going to carry this thing? I don't want to stab anyone accidentally."

"Here, I'll show you. There's some special straps that you have…" She instructed him on how to strap the lance to his back and when he was finished, grinned at his. "You look like a real fighter now."

"Thanks for the help...Uh…" Niklason scratched his head.

"It's Sylvia. Sylvia Rionen." She smiled and brushed some of her blond hair out of her face. "Since introductions have been made, what about you guys?"

"I'm Niklason." The swordsman nodded before pointing to Radella. "This is my friend, Radella. She's a beginning mage."

"It's nice to meet you." Radella bowed to the blacksmith, who grinned and nodded.

"And this _moron_, is Alexstrazos….A rogue who I'd rather not have known."

"Hey! I resent that!" Alex glared at Niklason, who glared back. Sylvia chuckled at their antics and shook her head.

"Well, it was nice meeting you all, but I've still got some stuff to sell. Maybe I'll see you guys later." She walked back to behind the counter, ready to receive more customers. The three travelers waved farewell and left her shop.

"That was a disaster…" Niklason slapped his hand to his face as he walked out, moaning in embarrassment.

"Well, at least Sylvia was nice." Radella followed behind him, shaking her head. Alex followed behind them, a big smile on his face.

"Geez, why are you guys so grumpy today?"

Niklason spun around and pointed a finger at Alex's face. "Because of you, we could've been sent to jail or something! Next time, don't stick your hands in places where they shouldn't belong!"

"Like your pouches?"

"Exactly!" Niklason looked down and noticed he was missing on of the pouches on his belt. He looked up and saw Alex dangling it in his face. He gave a shout of rage and chased after a feeling Alexstrazos.

"Boys!" Radella humped and followed after them, muttering various things she'd do to the both of them. Alex ran into an abandoned clearing, Niklason close at his heels. When Radella finally caught up, she saw Niklason holding Alex by the collar.

"Come on! I've just about had enough of your stupid pranks and thieving! Just…Stop it already!"

Alex held up his hands and grinned apologetically. "All right! All right! I'll try, okay? Stealing's just in my blood, ya know?"

Niklason sighed and put the rogue down. "Yeah, I guess…"

"Glad we could come to an agreement." Alexstrazos smiled, but then his eyes flashed. He whipped out a short stiletto from his belt and shoved Niklason to the ground. "Move it, kid!"

"Hey, what's going on?!" Niklason jumped up, but then noticed that Alex was locked in a battle with an assassin. He pulled out his katana and rushed to help the rogue, but Alex brushed him off.

"Go help your mage friend! I've got this guy!" Alex grunted as the assassin's twin katars pushed down on his dagger. He pushed forward suddenly, pushing the assassin off of him. "Dammit, not you guys again! I thought you guys would leave me alone after those two other assassin you sent after me!"

Niklason turned as he stood in front of Radella, watching to see if any other assassins would come out. "Wait, you know these people?!"

"Uh…I'll explain after this!" Alex slashed vertically as the assassin, but was pushed back and had to dodge as the katars came close to puncturing his stomach.

"Hiss….You'll pay for working on our turf, rogue. Come on out!" He whistled and another assassin and a rogue appeared. Alex groaned.

"Why can't you guys just leave me the hell alone?!" He slashed with his dagger, breaking through the first assassin's defense and raising a long cut along the assassin's arm. He moved quickly to dodge the second assassin's slash, but only succeeded enough to earn himself a light cut on his leg. Wincing, Alex continued to battle the two assassins, who were relentless in their attack.

Niklason was also having troubles of his own, as the rogue had targeted him.

"No one can be a witness!" The rogue whipped out a short gladius, aiming it for the swordsman's throat. Niklason dodged to the left, but was too slow to be able to strike with a return blow. Radella launched a fire bolt at the rogue, which only served to make him target her instead.

"Ah…A little mage…" He disappeared, then reappeared behind Radella, holding his gladius to her throat. He saw Niklason move, but smiled and wagged a finger at him. "No, no! Don't move, or else this little lady is going be missing a few pints of blood." The rogue chuckled. "Who am I kidding? Tons of her blood!" Niklason stood still, his eyes flaring in anger.

"That's good, that's good. Thanks for not moving!" The rogue was about the plunge the dagger into Radella's heart, when an arrow pierced his hand from behind. The dagger dropped from his nerveless hand and he let go of Radella. Carylesti jumped in the clearing, her red hair flying behind her and her bow pointed at the rogue's heart. He hissed in pain and faced his new enemy.

"The militia. We should have known you'd be around here!" The rogue hissed as he turned to his fellows. "Come on! Let's go! We'll get them later!" He threw down a smoke bomb, and when it cleared, the rogue and the assassins were gone.

Alex gave a groan and sat on the ground. The battle had been extremely tiring to the rogue, as he had to face two opponents instead of one. He winked at the huntress. "Good thing you were here!"

Carylesti smiled. "Well, I heard sounds of battle and I decided to investigate. And who do I find but my favorite rogue and the swordsman!" She grinned and sat down next to the rogue, inspecting his injuries.

"Hey…Radella? Radella! Where are you?!" Niklason looked around for his friend, but he couldn't find her anywhere. Alexstrazos and Carylesti looked up in alarm.

"Yeah, where is she? Isn't she always with you?" Carylesti looked at Niklason, who was looking around hopelessly, trying to find some sign of her.

"She was here a minute ago! Where could she be?!" Niklason stomped the ground in anger, and discovered a piece of paper that fallen to the ground. He picked it up and examined it. The huntress and the rogue looked on as Niklason's expression grew angrier and angrier. Letting out a fierce yell, he crumpled up the paper and threw it to the ground.

"What did it say?" Alexstrazos looked at him.

"Grr…Damn bastards…They've taken her. They said we should meet them in front of the Payon Caves in order to talk about her release." Niklason sheathed his sword. "I'm going to get her."

"Hey, hey, don't forget about me!" Alexstrazos stood up and walked up to the swordsman, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I've gotta look out for her too!"

"Yeah, and I better accompany you. You guys seem to get into trouble, and besides, this is happening in my city. I can't let this continue." Carylesti tested her bow and stood beside Niklason.

"Thanks…But this is **_my_** fight. I appreciate your offers…But I'm doing this alone. I've known her the longest." Niklason dashed off, leaving the rogue and the huntress behind. Carylesti looked at the rogue, who nodded.

"Yep, we'd better follow him at a safe distance. He's still too reckless in order to deal with these guys properly." Alextrazos waited before running after Niklason. Carylesti thought about it and followed, quickly catching up with the rogue.

"Reminds me of someone I know." She smirked.

"Hey! Hey! I'm not that bad, you know!"

"Of course not. Of course…" They trailed behind him, watching the swordsman at a safe distance as he ran off to rescue his friend. And as he ran, he didn't notice that the fairy from earlier was flying around him, slowly enchanting him with the small amount of magic it had.

* * *

Chris: Ooooh…Stuff happened. Aaaanyway…Here's the part where Carylesti unofficially joins up with the group, so I'll be editing the intro as well. However, it isn't really official until later…But she sticks around them for now. 


	7. Give Her Back!

Chris: Another update! From me! Whoo! And, yeah, same layout as always.

**Tom Valor: **Thanks for the compliment and I was actually planning to have Niklason destroy the letter, but then I changed it at the last second and forgot to edit that sentence….Stupid me.

**Kiyoko-chan:** I agree. I need more reviews. Oh well. Just have to keep on writing. And…I didn't remember how to spell oridecon. It's a hard word…And Niklason/Radella might be a pairing. Probably. Maybe. And yeah…I had to use assassin. Of course, they'll get names later.

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**Chapter 6: Give Her Back!**

Niklason plunged back towards the city, heading for the trail that led to the Payon Caves. The faerie continued to enchant his sword, making it stronger and lighter. He found himself in the main plaza and sped off, shoving aside people that were in his way. He spotted the trail and ran towards it; his only thought that of saving his friend.

Carylesti and Alexstrazos appeared a little later. The huntress spotted Niklason's disappearing figure and dragged Alex along as she ran after him. The rogue was currently emptying other people's pockets as he was running, and Alex calculated that he'd be thousands richer after this day was over. The both of them followed after Niklason, hoping he didn't do anything too rash.

-

Niklason peered behind some bushes, spying on the three people who kidnapped Radella.

"Do you think that kid will actually come here? We're going for Alex, not the kid." One of the assassins stretched, her long, silver hair falling behind her back. The rogue glared at her.

"We want him to come, Ninoryn! We must make sure that no one witnessed our assassination attempt. I hope that huntress comes too. I've got payment that I need to carve out of her pretty little body." The rogue ran his fingers along the length of his dagger. The second assassin, who was leaning against one of the many trees that surrounded the clearing, snickered.

"Of course, of course. Anyway, what are gonna do with her?" He cocked his head towards Radella, who was lying on the floor, unconscious. He practiced with his katars, testing their sharpness by clashing them against each other. "I just want to get rid of that rogue. He's done enough damage to our guild's reputation."

"The wench?" Ninoryn looked at Radella and shook her head. "I have no idea. Like you, I just want to get rid of that rogue, Alexstrazos. The nerve of that guy! Sneaking into our guild hall and pilfering some of the treasury! And he got past all of the guards too! You know, he would have made a great guild member, Hitori." She busied herself with spinning her twin daggers, throwing them in the air at random intervals.

"After we've killed those three fools, we can just kill her." The rogue pointed to Radella. "Unless…One of you wants to keep her as a slave. She's not bad looking, you know."

"No way." Hitori and Ninoryn shook her heads. "It's…Just dishonorable to take her as a slave." Hitori looked at the ground, his green hair ruffling.

"I can never understand you guys. With all that talk about honor. We're assassins and thieves! There is no honor in our work!" The rogue threw his dagger at the ground in frustration. "If you two won't take her, I will! She's has the same color hair as I have. Which only serves to make her more appealing." He reached and picked it back up. Grinning, he walked towards Radella's unmoving body and reached down to touch her hair. "She'd make a ni-"

"Get your hands off of her! None of you will take her! Now give Radella back to me!" Niklason charged out of his hiding spot, swinging his sword at the rogue's head. Niklason's opponent spun around in surprise and was barely able to block Niklason's furious blow. Hitori reacted immediately, running towards Niklason with one of his katars aiming for the swordsman's heart. Ninoryn scanned the clearing, searching for any others.

"Niklason! You idiot!" Alex burst out of his hiding spot, blocking Hitori's katar before it pierced Niklason's armor. "Next time, don't rush out recklessly!" Alex used his free hand to punch the assassin in the stomach, knocking Hitori backwards.

"Listen to Alex! He might be an idiot, but at least he knows how to fight!" Carylesti launched an arrow at Ninoryn and it was able to graze her side. The female assassin hissed and threw a stiletto at the huntress's throat. Carylesti dodged and fell to the ground, hiding so she could reload her bow.

"I thought I told you that this is my fight!" Niklason yelled angrily, swinging his sword again and again at the rogue, who was backing away. The rogue grimaced. Since one of his hands was out of action, thanks to that damned huntress, his defense was weakening. He grinned as he thought of another way to get out of this mess. He ducked, dodging Niklason's overhead swipe and grabbed Radella's body, using her as a shield again.

"Drop your weapons! Everyone, drop your weapons! Or else this girl gets it!" He positioned the dagger at Radella's neck. "Drop the weapons!"

"You little bastard…" Niklason grumbled as he dropped his katana on the floor, wincing as he heard it hit the ground. Alex and Hitori stopped fighting, and Alex dropped his stiletto on the ground, looking at the floor regretfully.

"The huntress too! Get out here right now!"

Carylesti stepped out of her hiding spot and dropped her hunter's bow on the ground.

"Hee hee. Good, good." The rogue pointed to the two assassins. "Make sure they don't do anything stupid!" Ninoryn picked up Carylesti's bow and unstrung it while Hitori picked up Alex's stiletto. Seeing this, the rogue tossed Radella on the floor and walked up to the huntress.

"I still haven't paid you back for what you did to my hand, you know." The rogue ran his hand across her cheek, and she slapped his hand away. "Hiss…You've got spunk. I like that."

While the rogue and Carylesti were talking, Niklason was slowly loosening the straps that held the pike to his back. Luckily for him, the rogue had forgotten all about it. Niklason stole a glance at Alex, who realized what he was trying to do. Alex gave a small nod to show that he understood and Niklason nodded back. Seeing that nobody was looking at him, Niklason pulled his pike free and stabbed the rogue in the back, piercing the leather armor that the rogue was wearing. He yanked it out of the rogue's body, prepared to fight anyone else.

"Gaha…" The rogue staggered forward a bit, his blood seeping out of the gaping wound in his back. He fell on his knees, his eyes glazing over. As he fell, his blood forming a pool around him, chaos broke out. Alex, seeing that Niklason was on the move, spun around and punched Hitori on the head, dazing the male assassin for a while. Carylesti lashed out with her leg and tripped Ninoryn before she was aware what was happening. The huntress proceeded to whip out an arrow from her quiver and point it at Ninoryn's neck. Alex was able to obtain his stiletto again and pointed it at Hitori before he was able to react.

"Grr…You win again, scum. But I swear, the next time we meet, I'm going to make sure that you die." Hitori glared fiercely at Alex, loathing plain on his features.

"As will I. I won't rest until I see your body in a grave, Alexstrazos Liakos. Be prepared for that day." Ninoryn throw down a ball, and it exploded, spreading smoke across the clearing. When it cleared, the two assassins had disappeared. Niklason trembled, the adrenaline disappearing. He dropped his pike on the floor and rushed to Radella, trying to see if she was okay.

"Whew…It's finally over." Alex fell to the ground, looking at the sky. "I thought I had seen the last of those guys."

Carylesti picked up her bow and began restringing it. "You've run against NightKnife before?"

"You need to ask?" Alex sat up a little, grinning tiredly.

"Oh…Right. Forget I asked." Carylesti shook her head. "How is the girl, Niklason?"

"Radella is fine." Niklason cut the mage's bonds, and lifted her up, shaking her.

"Ugh…Where…Where am I?" Radella blinked, shaking her head. "What happened...?"

"You're awake!" Niklason smiled, his eyes shining. He wrapped Radella in a big hug, tears of happiness falling out of his eyes. Radella's eyes widened, but she hugged him back, savoring the moment. Alex and Carylesti looked at each other, smiling at each other and happy that everything was okay.

-

"Okay Alex. Explain how you know these guys." Niklason sat down on a couch, looking at the rogue. After the battle, they had all returned to the inn and washed up and changed their clothes. Now they were seating in the common room, near the fireplace. This time, they were able to get enough rooms for the four of them, considering that the militia leader was there as well. For now, however, Niklason was determined to find out why these assassins were after Alexstrazos.

"Well, it is a long story…" Alex pulled at the collar of his black shirt and tugged at his pants.

"We've got time." Niklason folded his arms, with Radella sitting next to him. Niklason had on a white shirt and brown breeches while Radella had a green blouse and a blue skirt. Carylesti had left earlier, saying she had some things to do at the militia headquarters.

Alex sighed and leaned against the cushions, trying to recall the past. "I used to be a member in the NightKnife guild. You know, the one that does assassinations?"

"Whoa! Wait…You said you 'used' to be. What happened?" Niklason sat up, interested at what the rogue was going to say.

"Well, you see…At the beginning, it was fun. I was never fond of killing others. I just preferred to steal from them. But, the guild changed and became…darker, you can say. The guild leader, a woman named Trynis, became colder and colder, often killing guild members for idiotic and paranoid reasons. I had a lot of friends in that guild. And then, one day, I just left. I sneaked into the guild treasury and hid, hoping to be able to escape from NightKnife's grasp. I settled in Payon, where I met Carylesti. I managed to live well enough, stealing when it was necessary. Eventually, they tracked me down again, and I had to be more cautious."

"Oh…Alex…I never knew that was your past…" Radella looked at the floor, her skirt clutched in her hands.

"Ah, don't worry about me!" Alex barked out a short laugh. "Anyway, Carylesti helped me avoid some of the more diehard assassins, and if they ever found me, well, they never found anyone else again. Sigh…I never wanted to kill them, but it was a matter of life and death. But what sticks in my mind most is something Trynis told me."

"What's that?"

Alex closed his eyes. "This is what she said. 'Killing is just like stealing. Instead of stealing money, you just steal someone's life. That's all there is to it.'" He buried his head in his hands. "She creeped me out…How she didn't care about life. And…That's about all there is too it." He brought his head back up. "Ah, I'm tired. I'm going to my room to rest for a bit. See ya later!" Alex waved to Niklason and Radella before walking up to his room.

"Poor Alex…" Radella continued to stare at the floor.

"I know…Maybe I shouldn't yell at him so much." Niklason leaded against the cushions again.

"Niklas?" Radella stopped looking at floor and gazed at her friend.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"I…I never really got to thank you for saving me back there." She blushed, clenching her skirt tighter. "S-So…Thank you, Niklas."

"It wasn't a problem. You should be thanking Alex and Carylesti too. They helped a lot." Niklason let out a small sigh and closed his eyes, trying to rest for a bit.

"No…You don't understand!" Radella stamped her foot on the ground, causing Niklason to sit up, with his eyes open.

"What? How?"

"I…I…Niklas. It's just that…Well, I don't know how to say it!"

"Heh, just let it out. I mean, it can't be that bad, right?" Niklason grinned, looking at his friend.

Radella managed a shaky smile. "Hah…Yeah. Um, well, I guess I just wanted to thank you." She stood up and twisted her hair nervously. "And..."

"And what?"

"…" Radella leaned down and gave Niklason a quick peck on the cheek before fleeing to her room. Niklason leaned back, closing his eyes and smiling.

"You're welcome, Radella." Murmuring this, he closed his eyes and began to take a nap on the couch.

-

"What are we going to do now, Hitori! You do know that Trynis doesn't approve of failure! If we return, we'll be killed for certain!" Ninoryn waved her arms around, drawing a dotted line around her neck.

"The answer is simple. We don't go back." Hitori's eyes were closed, as he leaded against a dead tree.

"But…That would mean that we would have assassins sent after us." Ninoryn shook her head, although it was clearly apparent that she was considering the idea.

"It's better than certain death now, right?"

"True…Very well. Renegades we are, then." Ninoryn nodded.

Hitori smiled. "Heh. By this action, we have become like the person we had sworn to kill. Not only will more people be sent to kill Alex, people will be sent to get rid of us."

Ninoryn slashed a mark into the tree near Hitori's face. "We shall never be like that fool. We have the honor that the rogue will never have."

One of Hitori's eyes opened. "Honor you say? Hiding and sneaking around? Doing assassinations for people who have money? Killing people who are innocent, not the people who truly deserve to be killed? If that's our version of honor, I'd rather not have any." He walked off, heading back towards the city.

"…" Following Hitori, Ninoryn realized that her friend was correct.

* * *

Chris: Well, here it is! Now I must type up chapters for my other stories. Review please, if you want to. 


	8. Um…So, What Do We Do Now?

Chris: Well, I finally get around to updating this! Yes, I am very lazy. Oh, and I don't own RO. I'll probably just say the disclaimer once every…7 chapters just to make sure people know that. Anyway, you know the routine!

**Tom Valor: **Ah….Sorry about that. Yeah, I probably should have made it longer…And I was trying to show that the rogue was too distracted to notice Niklason. Guess I didn't stress that enough. Well, I'll try to make it better next time.

**Zhang Kai: **Thanks for the compliments and…Yeah.

**Hyuuga:** Hmmm….Yeah. Maybe I forgot to put that in….Well, next time, I'll have to make sure he doesn't seem so lazy. And about the two assassins…Uh…It's a secret. Yeah.

**Kiyoko-chan:** Um…Yes, yes it does. Strangely enough. But hey, the Blank Fang was cool. And thanks for offering to advertise.

**mystique-goddex: **I'm glad you like the story and…Alex is cool.

Chris: Oh, and just so you know the time relation to Tom Valor's fic, this chapter occurs at the beginning of that week-long reprieve on the siege at Prontera.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Um…So, What Do We Do Now? **

After the hectic events that happened yesterday, Alex was only too glad to take a leisurely stroll through the streets of Payon. And if a couple of money pouches suddenly fell into his hands, well, those people should tie those pouches on tighter. He was in a cheery mood today, with all those pouches falling into his hands and the fact that everyone was still okay. He headed back towards the inn, smiling as he found out that another money pouch fell into his hands. He entered the inn and headed to the common room, where he found Carylesti.

"Oh, hey Alex." Carylesti looked up from some papers to greet the rogue. "I see that you've found a lot of money. You do realize that I'm going to have to make you return that." She stood up, sighing. "But I really don't feel like it now. There've been more reports of that con-artist around town again. I need a drink…" Carylesti shook her head, groaning. "Too much action yesterday. Speaking of which…Where are those two anyway?"

"Eh, I don't know. I was outside, remember?"

"Oh….Right. I really need that drink." The huntress shook her head.

"Drink? Someone said something about drinking?" Niklason yawned as he walked into the room, covering his mouth with his hand. "Every time I hear that, I keep remembering how I met Alex." He shook his head sleepily. It was only ten o'clock in the morning, but he still felt tired. He had on a white undershirt and brown pants. "So? What? You two are gonna go to the bar or something?"

"Yeah. Do you want to come?"

Niklason shook his head. "Nah, I wanna make sure Radella is alright. Maybe I'll meet up with you guys later."

Alex smirked. "Something happen between you two that I don't know about? Naughty, naughty Niklas."

The swordsman flushed red. "What! I didn't do anything like that, you idiot! Why…Why, I'm going to kill you!" He launched himself at the laughing rogue, but Carylesti restrained him. "Let me go! I'm going to pound him into pulp!"

"Now, now. I'm sure he didn't mean anything." She glared at Alex. "Come on, moron! You have to be alive if you're going to buy me a drink!" Carylesti let go of Niklason and began shoving Alex out the door.

"I'm buying! What? You've got to be joking me!"

Niklason could still hear him protesting as the huntress pushed him through the streets of Payon. Shaking his head, the swordsman walked back up the stairs to where the sleeping rooms were. He paused outside of Radella's room and knocked on the door. "Hey Radella! Are you in there?" Niklason didn't hear anything, so he tried the doorknob. To his surprise, the door was unlocked, and he opened it slightly. And then he sighed when he found out what she was doing.

"Great to see that you haven't been changed by the last couple of events." Niklason entered and looked at the mage, who was busy reading. Radella didn't turn from her book, and Niklason sighed again. He walked up to her and leaned over her shoulder to see what she was looking at. It was a book that discussed the different types of magic and, Niklason noted, the faerie also was interested it since he could see the green-haired pixie hovering nearby. Niklason gave the mage a little shake on the shoulder, and she spun around.

"Oh! Niklas! It's just you."

"Glad to see you still recognize me."

Radella blushed. "Well, it's just that this book is so interesting! Did you know that you could combine spells to get a totally different effect? I can't wait to try it out!" She continued talking now that she was in her element.

Niklason held up his hands. "Hey, I'm a swordsman, remember? I don't use magic."

"Oh! Right! Sorry…But it's just so amazing what you can do with magic!" Radella stood up, closing the book. The faerie settled on the mage's shoulder, resting on top of her head. Radella twirled around Niklason, her skirt brushing against his legs. "So? Where are the others?"

"Um…Well, both of them went to the bar to get a couple of drinks." Niklason grimaced. "I don't understand how they can always drink like that. Well, I don't know about Carylesti, but Alex seems like he drinks too much."

Radella smiled. "They probably just need a break now and then. I mean, it's not like their lives are that easy."

"True." Niklason shook his head. "Still, I probably won't be able to understand them. Especially that Alex…Ooooh, I'm going to knock his lights out." He clenched his hand into a fist, envisioning himself knocking the rogue unconscious.

Radella let out a small sigh and placed her hands on her hips. "What did he do this time? Come on, Niklas. Tell me."

"Uh, well, he…Uh…" Niklason trailed off, thinking of how he was going to rephrase Alex's remark. "Alex said that we…uh…Fooled around last night."

Radella flushed a deep red. "WHAT! Ooooh…Stupid Alex…" She straightened out her pink short-sleeved shirt, and stalked out of the room. Niklason scratched his head thoughtfully.

"I wonder if I should help….I guess he did help us out a little, so I better pull him out of this jam. Just so I can punch him myself." He rushed out of the room, intent on stopping Radella from doing considerable harm to the rogue. However, just as they left the inn, a red-haired priest warped in. He was wearing the uniform of someone in the Pronteran church.

"Listen! I bring news from the war in Prontera!" The priest raised his hand for attention, and everyone stopped their business to see what had happened. Niklason and Radella stopped and listened to what the messenger had to say.

"It has been declared that there will be a week long reprieve from the war! So, do not worry about the war for this week, since there will be no fighting! That is all." The priest lowered his hand, and everyone dispersed, except for Niklason and Radella.

Niklason walked up to the priest and tugged on his sleeve.

"Yes?" The priest turned around the face the two teenagers. "Can I help you?"

"Is there any news about the Knight Commander Joe Buck? I heard that he has disappeared! Is this true?"

"Well, there haven't been any details…" The priest scratched his head.

Niklason wasn't satisfied, and began shaking the priest a little. "You must tell me! What happened to him?"

"I honestly don't know! And besides, I heard that he had left his unit in the middle of battle. I don't think that type of action justifies such loyalty from you."

"Hey! I heard that Joe Buck defeated an immortal! He's just so cool! I wish I could be as good as him!" Niklason released his hold on the priest for a while, imagining himself as one of the Knight Commanders.

"Sorry about my friend." Radella pulled Niklason away. "He just acts up like that when he hears about Knight Commander Joe Buck. I sincerely apologize."

"It's okay." The priest smiled. "I don't suppose that you would know the militia commander, would you?"

"Oh, you mean Carylesti?" Niklason snapped out of his daze. "Yeah, we know her. She's down at the bar drinking. Why?"

The priest let out a shout of aggravation. "Dammit! Every single time I visit, she's drinking, gambling, or beating the snot out of some random person she thinks is hitting on her!"

"Uh, I would assume you know her then?" Radella cocked her head sideways, curious.

"Know her? I'm her older brother! Elindasin Dephalous, at your service." The red-haired priest gave a small bow.

"Wow. You're her brother? I never knew she had a brother." Niklason looked at Radella, who shrugged.

"She never told us. Anyway, I am Radella Maeklin and this is my friend, Niklason Tirin." Radella curtsied to the priest, who smiled.

"It's nice to meet you two…Now, as to the location of my sister?"

"Oh, right! The tavern is right over there." Niklason pointed to a building nearby. "We were heading there ourselves. Come on. We'll go together." Elindasin nodded assent, and the three of them headed towards the bar. As soon as Niklason opened the door, their noses were assaulted by various spices and smells, not all of them pleasant. Elindasin wrinkled his nose and stepped inside, looking for his sister. To his chagrin, he found her sitting in front of the bar table, a couple of drinks already in front of her. He walked up to her, afraid of what her reaction would be.

"Hello sister." Elindasin took a seat next to the huntress, who turned at the voice. She quickly poked Alex, who was sitting next to her. The rogue turned, a full mug of ale in his hand.

"Lindy! What are you doing here!" Carylesti smiled widely and gave her brother a big hug, sloshing a little bit of beer on his robes. He stiffened at hearing the nickname.

"I thought I told you to never, ever, call me Lindy." He glared at his sister, who ignored him.

"But you're just so cute, Lindy!" Carylesti continued to hug her brother, while Alex, Niklason, and Radella sat nearby, extremely amused at the antics of the siblings. Elindasin looked extremely embarrassed, and his face was turning the same color as his hair.

After a while, though, Carylesti calmed down slightly and released her brother. The huntress' face was still flushed, but she seemed to be able to control herself. Alex seemed to be in the same condition, and was now amusing himself by tossing gemstones in the air. He really didn't worry about losing one, since all of them were stolen anyway. Elindasin and Niklason were in a heated discussion about the virtues of Knight Commander Joe Buck and Radella was reading again, as usual. Nobody exactly knew why she had brought a book to the tavern, but hey, if it kept her from being bored, good for her.

"I'm telling you, Joe Buck should be lauded as one of the best Knight Commanders of all time! I mean, who else do you know of killed an immortal?"

"Well, there's Eliarainne Sialsanderin and Makaelthos Solcry for starters. And don't forget Trenzein Zaisen! Joe Buck is just one of the many!"

"Bah, they were all more experienced than him! And besides, Joe Buck is just a regular swordsman like me! It takes skill and power to defeat an immortal, you know!"

"Exactly! And I believe that Joe Buck just doesn't have enough! It was all luck!"

Niklason slammed his fist into the table. "It wasn't luck! He's the best damn swordsman in the whole army!"

Carylesti turned to face the two. "Now, now….Don't argue with the pretty boy, Lindy." She had a silly grin on her face. "I dun wan any fightin', mmmkay?"

Niklason turned. "Pretty boy!"

"Of course, little Nicky!" She mussed up Niklason's hair, giggling. "You're just so cuuuute!"

Niklason stood up, angry and a little bit afraid of the huntress. "Tch! I'm out of here!" He stalked outside of the bar, his hands clenched in fists. Radella, looking up from her book, saw him leave and dashed out after him. Alex gave a wide grin.

"I told ya there was somethin' going on between them!" He took a long pull from his mug, still grinning.

Outside, Radella was trying to calm down an extremely angry Niklason. "Aw, come on, Niklas. She was only kidding. I mean, it's got to be the drink."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It still doesn't make it feel any better!" Niklason let out a long sigh and unclenched his hands. "Okay, I think I'm fine…" He turned to his friend. "Hey…Do you want to take a little walk through the marketplace? I, uh, don't feel like going back in there."

Radella's face brightened. "Of course!" She took the swordsman's hand and they walked towards the line of stalls that signified the entrance to the marketplace of Payon.

Inside, they found themselves assaulted by various smells and sights from the different merchant stalls. The both of them examined many different things, like nippers from the numerous Vadon that dwelled in Byalan Cave, garlets, and various other goods. They spotted a familiar figure selling her wares nearby, and they walked up to her stall.

"Oh, hey guys!" Silvia waved to them from her stall. "Do you need anything?"

Niklason smiled. "Nah. We were just taking a look around." He looked around his friend's stall. "Hey, that looks new." He pointed to a strange looking sword lying on a rack.

"Ah, that one! Yeah, it's my own creation. I was thinking of giving it to you, since I'm too busy with forging. Would you like to try it out?" The blacksmith lifted a straight, double bladed sword that had an ornate basket hilt. The top of the blade curved in a loop, and the sharp tip faced downwards. The curve itself was flat, with only a slight turn. And on the inner part of the curve, the sword was blunt. On the other side of the blade, near the hilt, there was a small bladed attachment. It was like a small dagger without the hilt, and faced parallel to the sword blade. Niklason eyed it skeptically.

"Um…No offense, but it really doesn't look like a good weapon." Niklason hefted it in his hands. "It's really heavy, plus that little attachment on the side seems like it would be more cumbersome than helpful." He gave it a small practice swing. "Hmm, it's pretty long, too. I can handle it, but it'll seem a little awkward. Give me something to try it out against."

"Well, sure." Sylvia drew out a small trunk and placed it on the floor. "Give it your best shot."

Niklason swung the sword at the trunk, intent on splitting it in two. The blade passed through the trunk, slicing it from top to bottom as if it were cutting through butter. He grinned appreciatively. "It's really sharp though. And I guess the curve isn't too bad…I assume it's used to drag people off of horses or something?"

Sylvia nodded. "Yep. That's why the curve is blunt. Can't have a sharp edge for that. It's not as effective against larger enemies…But against a human sized opponent, it should do well enough. So, think you could use it?"

Niklason nodded. "Of course! But…uh…How am I supposed to carry it?" He looked at the sword again. "I can't just hook it on my belt. It's way too big for that. And I don't think there's a sheath around that can hold it."

The blacksmith's eyes sparkled. "I thought about that situation. And I believe I have the perfect solution. Where's your conniving rogue friend?"

"He's at the tavern."

"Ah, of course. Anyway...I need him to help. I'm planning to have him hold it. I mean, it'll keep his hands from my merchandise, right?" She snickered.

Niklason and Radella laughed along with the blacksmith. The swordsman grinned. "Yeah, I see what you mean. But really, how are we going to do this?"

The faerie, who apparently was apparently still with Radella, hovered up and down, waving her arms. Sylvia looked at it. "Hey, looks like your little friend has an idea."

"Really?" Radella looked up at the faerie, who nodded. "Well, let's see what it is."

The pixie smiled happily, and summoned two small chains, one slightly longer than the other. Carrying them as though they weighed no more than feathers, she handed one to Niklason and wrapped the other one around the dagger-like attachment on the sword. With a little wave of her hands, the sword disappeared, and the chain that was wrapped around it morphed into a small replica of the weapon. The faerie carried the replica and attached it to the other chain.

"Boy, this seems complicated…What am I supposed to do?" Niklason looked at the chain and the replica, shaking it. The faerie shook her head.

"No…When you call out the name of the weapon, it will appear in your hands. And when you don't need it, it will attach itself back onto the chain."

"Radella…Did you say that?" Niklason looked around.

"No…Wasn't me." The mage shook her head. "Maybe Sylvia?"

"Huh?" Sylvia looked just as puzzled. "Wasn't me."

"Wait…That would mean…" Niklason turned to the faerie. "You can talk?"

The faerie nodded, smiling. Niklason smiled back. "Well, how about that…Thanks a lot for your help!"

The faerie smiled again, and then settled back on top of Radella's head. Sylvia gave an appreciative grin. "Well, well. Looks like you've got a lot of friends." She chuckled and headed back to her position behind the counter. "Tell me how that works out, and if you need any help…Well, you know where to find me!"

"Thanks Sylvia!" Niklason and Radella waved good bye to their friend and continued on their walk. Along the way, they met someone who looked really familiar.

"HEY! You're that guy who cheated us!" Niklason pointed to the familiar face of that con man, who froze. He quickly tried to close his stall down, but the two teenagers were able to catch him before he ran away. Niklason knocked out the merchant with a swift punch in the head, and they dragged the man back to the bar.

"Look what we found!" Niklason shook the man roughly, waking him up, and threw the guy at a chair. Carylesti, who had recovered slightly more, looked at him.

"Hoi! I know you! You're that con merchant!"

Alex took a look at the guy. "Yep. That's a conning merchant. I've seen tons of them."

Elindasin shook his head. "Tsk, tsk…Pathetic being. Having to resort to stealing from your fellow people." He stood up. "I've got to go get a breath of fresh air. This place reeks." He left the tavern, stretching his arms. The bartender looked surly at the priest's comment, and began cleaning the bar counter again. The merchant shook his head, and then backed away, fully aware he wasn't facing a friendly group of strangers.

Niklason began cracking his knuckles. "You don't know how long it's been since I've wanted to do this." He reared back, and then punched the merchant in the jaw, toppling the man from his seat. "That felt good. Let me do that again." He lifted the merchant, and socked the man in the mouth again. Radella held the swordsman back before he could do any more damage.

"Ugh…." The merchant staggered up, holding his bleeding lip. This time, Carylesti was the one to grab him. However, before she could knock the man's lights out, someone tapped her from behind.

A blacksmith, if it could be told by his clothes, with short, black hair stood behind her. "Excuse me, but did I hear you correctly about this man being a con artist?"

Carylesti looked up at the man. "Yeah, he's been cheating a couple of adventurers, like those two-" She pointed at Niklason and Radella. "By selling them fake merchandise."

The blacksmith's eyes narrowed and glinted dangerously. "Is that so…May I borrow him for a moment?" The huntress shrugged and nodded, handing the merchant to the blacksmith. The blacksmith smirked.

"Thank you." He held the merchant steady for a moment, then pummeled the man in the stomach before backhanding him across the face. He punched the man in the mouth, adding to the punishment Niklason had done earlier, and then to finish it off, he lifted the man in the air and threw him against the back wall. Carylesti held up a steady hand.

"'Ey! Don't kill him! We need him if we're going to find the base where he works at!"

"Oh, I'm sorry." The blacksmith gathered up the beaten up merchant and deposited him roughly in a chair. "Thanks for letting me borrow him."

"Yeah, no problem…Question though." Carylesti looked at the blacksmith.

"What?"

"Um, who are you, and why did you punch this poor guy so badly? I mean, Nicky here-"

"HEY!"

"Ahem, Niklason, here has quite a temper. And he was the one being cheated." Carylesti coughed.

"My name is Kreizen Xalascent. And as for the merchant…" His voice grew angrier. "Those thieving scum have no right to even think about selling things! They have no honor, no adherence to the rules that a merchant must set for himself! Scum like these are just a blot on the reputation of blacksmiths and merchant everywhere! I hate them, and all their kind!" He slammed his fist on the table, startling them. But Kreizen calmed down. "Thanks for your time…But I've got to go do something. Maybe some other time." He left the tavern, casting a dirty look at the bleeding merchant before leaving. The companions looked at each other.

"And I thought I hated this guy." Niklason shrugged. "But, what are we going to do with him?"

"I would love to put him in jail, but I've got a better idea for him." Carylesti grinned. "Let's use him to get us entrance to the guild that's supporting his con artist behavior. And I've got a feeling that same guild is helping other con artists set up shop here."

Alex shook his head. "Bah, I already know what guild it's going to be."

Carylesti turned to her friend. "Oh?"

"NightKnife, of course. What other guild do you know of would control all of the criminal activities?" Alex let out a bitter laugh. "No, no. The only one I can see is NightKnife. And because of that…" He let out a sly grin. "I've got a better idea."

"And what's that?" Niklason looked skeptically at the rogue, who winked.

"Just trust me! I'll get us inside the guild! And Carylesti here will be able to expose every single merchant who's been cheating the villagers here!" Alex boasted.

Carylesti shrugged. "Well, if you say so. Don't know why, but I think you've got a good idea."

Alex grinned. "Just trust me. My plan will be perfect."

Radella stood nearby, listening to Alex. Somehow, she had a feeling the whole thing would be a lot harder than just going in and saying, "This is a raid!"

* * *

Chris: Before you exclaim, "Why does he have Kreizen in there? The blacksmith's Tom Valor's character!" I'd like to say that I did ask him for his permission for this stuff, and he did say yes. So, don't blow up about that. And…this was a lot longer than I imagined. Well, hope you like it and review and stuff! 


	9. I Don’t Think This Is Going To Work

Chris: Here's another chapter! Ooooooooh...And it's a very late chapter too. Sorry about that.

**Tom Valor: **Thank you for the compliments, and I'm glad I put Kreizen in character. Didn't want to mess that up.

**Tsuki Hoshi Hikari: **Glad you like my story and all of the stuff.

**mystique-goddex: **Thank you…And I'm trying at getting faster updates. But I'm not doing that well.

**Kiyoko-chan: **Ah…Thanks for telling me about that. I'll try to use some different words next time. And you should read Tom's story. It's gooood.

**Zhang Kai: **Actually…It's not a real weapon in the game. I just made it up. You'll see it in action a little bit later.

* * *

**Chapter 8: I Don't Think This Is Going To Work**

"You know, this is not going to work." Niklason looked at Alexstrazos, who was concealing himself in a couple of trees.

"What makes you say that?" The rogue looked back at the swordsman.

"Just a feeling." Niklason looked back at everyone else inside their hiding spot. Currently, they were hiding in some trees outside of Payon's NightKnife guild. Alex had proposed a plan that worked in two segments. First, they would infiltrate and see what kind of security and structure they had inside. And finally, they would disguise themselves and pretend to join the guild itself. That last part was extremely risky, but as Alex had said, "Don't worry! My plans always work!"

"Tell me exactly why _I'm_ here?" Sylvia looked out from her hiding spot, batting irritably at tree branches.

"You wanted to find out how many of the cheating bastards there were." Carylesti turned her head and answered Sylvia's question.

"Ah, yeah. That's right. Let's go kill them right now!" The blacksmith clenched her axe tightly and looked around. "What's stopping them from noticing that we're here?"

"Well…I kind of knocked out the guards earlier." Alex shrugged. "I thought it would be a good idea. And you know that merchant from earlier? He was one of the guards I clonked over the head."

"YOU WHAT?" Niklason leaped up, completely blowing his cover. Of course, no one was around to see him.

"Hey, now we can just go through the front door." Alex grinned.

Carylesti slapped her forehead. "Have you been away from NightKnife for so long that you've become a complete idiot? What do you think they're going to do when they find two of their guards unconscious?"

"Uh…Figure out that someone is trying to sneak into their guild?"

"YES! DON'T BE A MORON NEXT TIME AND DO THIS!" Carylesti bellowed at the rogue in her loudest voice and turned to the others. "Let's get out of here before they catch us! Thanks to Captain Stupidity here, we just blew a perfect chance." She dashed back towards Payon, muttering angrily. Niklason poked the rogue in the stomach roughly before running off as well.

"Hey, it's not my fault." Alex grumbled as he followed the rest of the party.

After a couple of days, they decided to try it again, only to find out that the number of guards had tripled. Carylesti sighed and glared at Alex. "Great. Now how are we going to get in?"

"Don't worry! Look, I've got a plan. Just trust me." Alex smiled roguishly at the rest of them and walked out of the hiding spot. In his hands he held a full bottle Payon spirits. Carylesti and the others watched them through the bushes and saw him walk straight up to the guards.

"That moron…" Niklason was about to go out there and give the rogue a piece of his mind, but Carylesti restrained him. He quieted down and they all watched as Alex offered the bottle to the guards. Then they watched as Alex was chased off, arrows and daggers flying behind him.

"Geez! Offer a drink and they try to take your head off!" Alex shouted back at the guards as they chased him. Carylesti heaved a sigh and Niklason shuddered, trying to stop himself from going into a berserk rage and punching the lights out of the rogue.

"Stupid guards." Alex leapt back into the hiding spot and grimaced. "Who could resist a pint of spirits?"

"Apparently, they could." Carylesti shot a dry look at Alex. "Got any other ideas before I stop trusting you?"

"Be quiet. I'm thinking." Alex frowned and thought long and hard. "I've got nothing."

"Um…I've got an idea." Elindasin raised his hand. "Alex, you know what the inside of the building looks like, right?"

"Well, yeah. I served here, remember?" Alex looked back at the priest.

"So…I can teleport you guys inside if you give me a good enough description of where you want to be sent." Elindasin shrugged. "Unless you don't want me to."

"Oh, of course we want to." Carylesti's eyes brightened. "This is perfect. Okay Alex. Get to explaining. Now."

"Sure." Alex smiled and made a small clearing on the ground. "Here's where we want to go. This room holds all of the records of the members of the guild. Now, it has around…three cabinets, all wooden, of course. They all have the same design and they lie against the north wall, like this, okay?" Alex drew a small picture of the room on the floor.

"Okay. What else?"

"Now, a long table sits in front of the cabinets. There are five chairs, positioned like so…" He drew in the table and chairs. "Is that enough information?"

"I hope so." Elindasin closed his eyes and clapped his hands together. He flipped them horizontally and spread them apart. A light-blue pillar appeared in his hands and a warp portal opened up behind him. "Now hurry up and go. I can't hold this forever, you know."

"Thanks Lindy." Carylesti patted her brother in the back before dragging Alex along with her. Sylvia jumped inside, clutching her broad axe with eager fingers. Niklason looked at Radella once and walked inside, the swordsman's various weapons hanging around his body. Radella looked up at the fairy, who nodded and they both went in. The priest closed his hands again, and the warp portal disappeared.

"Whew…Good luck." He lay on his back, watching the clouds move in the sky. "But then…With my sister and that rogue, luck is nonexistent with them."

* * *

"Find anything?" Carylesti called to Alex, who was busy rummaging through the cabinets. Niklason, Radella, and Sylvia were at the doors, listening for any footsteps.

"Nope. It's a good thing this room was empty." Alex grinned as he pushed aside a couple of papers.

"Yeah. Crazy, huh? Here we are, inside a criminal organization's head office, and the room we are in is completely empty." The huntress searched through a row of books lined up on one of the tables. "Hunh. Books on thievery, assassination, stealing, and con artistry. Everything a thief would need." She glared disgustedly at the books and searched through the papers that Alex had pushed away.

"Oh really?" Alex switched places with Carylesti and rummaged through the books. "Haven't seen this one before. 'The Rogue's Guide to Stealing.' I think I'll borrow this." The rogue stuffed the book into a pocket on the inside of his jacket.

"Geez…It's got to be around here somewhere." Niklason grumbled angrily, getting impatient at the wait. "How much do you want to bet that we are going to get caught?"

"We are not going to get caught." Alex reassured the swordsman and continued searching.

"And do you really think that NightKnife is stupid enough to keep a list of all their guild members out in the open?" Niklason tapped his foot on the ground.

"Found it!"

"That answers my question." The swordsman sighed.

"Where'd you get it?" Carylesti looked at Alex, who was holding a scroll in his hands.

"Oh, it was in this wooden box that had a seal on it. Wasn't too hard to open." Alex showed the others the box that he had found the scroll in. It looked plain enough, besides the rune inscribed on the lock.

"Alex? Do you know what you've done?" Carylesti looked calmly at the rogue, who looked at her apprehensively. Whenever she was calm, you knew you were in for a world of hurt.

"Um…I found the list?"

"Radella, please explain what the seal is."

"It's a signal seal that alerts the owner of the box that it was opened. As well as any of his subordinates."

"Exactly." Carylesti's eyes glinted. "So every assassin in Payon is coming here to kill us! You moron!" She smacked him upside the head. "If you weren't so valuable, I'd strange you!"

"Glad to see I'm needed. Whatever. Just as long as we got what we needed, right?" Alex grinned at her.

"It's nice to see you guys making up and all, but we've got trouble!" Niklason yelled back at the three, his ear at the door. "They're coming! Can your brother get us out of this?"

"No! He can only teleport us inside this place, not out!" Carylesti gripped her bow nervously. "Let's get out of here! I have no desire to die in a rat hole like this!"

"I agree!" Alex drew a small crossbow from his back. "Everyone! Let's go!"

The moment he said that, both of the doors burst open, knocking Niklason and Sylvia off of their feet.

"Outta my way!" Alex fired a bolt at the first enemy that blocked the exit and he was rewarded by seeing it pierce the man's skull. He threw the useless crossbow away and drew his dagger. "Out here! Now!" He ran for exit, swinging his dagger with deadly accuracy, slicing the wrist of a merchant that was going to swing an axe at him.

"Right behind you!" Sylvia grinned and pushed through the opening that Alex created. She swung her axe in a wide, horizontal arc, causing some of the assassins to back away from her.

Carylesti strung an arrow on her bow and shot it at soldiers that were advancing from the other door. She quickly notched another one and fired. "I'll cover! Move it!"

"W-Wait! Go behind Sylvia." Radella pressed her hands together, making sure they were vertical, pointing up. She spread her hands apart and pointed at the entrance where more NightKnife guild members were entered. A wall of flame erupted there, singeing some of the assassin's clothes. "It's temporary…But it should work…"

The faerie, who was still perched atop Radella's head, made a few motions of her own, and suddenly the wall of fire grew even larger and actually caught one of the guild members in its flame, turning him into a living torch. Radella tried to shut the screams from her head and ran after Carylesti, shivering.

Niklason was the last one out, throwing books at the approaching assassins. "Boy, if I didn't have to protect my friends, I'd so be kicking your asses!" The swordsman flipped off the NightKnife soldiers, even though they couldn't see the gesture. "Lucky for you saps!" He dashed out of the room amid the cries of outrage from the NightKnife troops.

"Where should we go?" Niklason ran up to Alex, who was busy battling a merchant. Alex spotted an opening and used his stiletto to slit the merchant's throat.

"This way!" Alex pointed down a long, narrow hallway. "If my memory serves me right, this leads straight outside. Luckily for us, that spell that Radella cast is holding them back. She truly is a beautiful genius, huh?" The rogue winked at Niklason, who flushed angrily.

"You better not be thinking about becoming her boyfriend!"

"Ohh…" Alex grinned impishly. "You already claimed her, huh?"

Niklason flushed even more. "You shut your mouth or else I'm going to give you a black eye! No! Make that two black eyes!"

"Will you two shut up and go already?" Carylesti raced back, sweat beading her forehead. She smacked the both of them over their heads and dragged them behind her. "Geez, you guys can argue about anything…"

The huntress met up with Sylvia and Radella, who were busy fending off a pair of ambitious swordsmen who thought they would be able to defeat them. Radella launched a bolt of ice at one of the swordsmen, but her enemy dodged it. The mage snapped her fingers and the block of ice shattered into thousands of sharp slivers. A couple of these pierced the swordsman's skin and one lodged in his throat, killing him.

Sylvia swung her axe, connecting with her opponent's sword. The blacksmith pushed harder with her weapon, bringing its bladed edge closer to the swordsman's face. The swordsman's eyes widened as he heard the blade crack, and then he knew no more as Sylvia's axe crashed into his skull. The blacksmith disdainfully pulled her axe out of the swordsman's face and pushed the man against the wall. "What took you guys so long?"

"Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum here were arguing again. Morons." Carylesti glared angrily at Alex and Niklason. "We're trying not to get killed here? So it might be beneficial to our health to not lag behind!"

"I'm sorry." Alex winked at Carylesti.

"Hmph…Sorry…" Niklason looked at the ground.

"Good!" The huntress released the two and looked backwards. An arrow lodged in her arm and she bit back a curse. "They're back! Let's go!" The five comrades continued running for the exit, arrows falling dangerously close to their heads.

"I've got something to stall them!" Alex reached down in his pocket and pulled out a branch that looked burnt.

"…You're going to throw shrubbery at them?" Niklason yelled at Alex, outraged at what seemed to be a completely stupid maneuver.

Alex tilted to the side to dodge an arrow that flew past his hand. "Stole this from someone. I think it might help. I've seen people do it hundreds of times!" He crunched the branch in his hand, threw it to the floor, and stomped on it. "Now let's go before whatever happens, happens." The rogue continued his run, pushing Niklason forward.

Behind them, the branch glowed black, and gray smoke slowly drifted out of it. The smoke formed the figure of a demon, which immediately attacked the closest person to it.

Niklason looked over his shoulder and saw that there was suddenly a monster in the hall. "Shit, Alex! What the hell is that?"

"I don't want to know! I don't want to know!" Alex continued running, not looking back at the demon, which was fighting against the NightKnife assassins.

"What did you do?" Carylesti stopped and looked at the rogue, who blushed.

"Uh…Unleashed a demon?"

"…" Carylesti paused. "WHAT DID WE TELL YOU ABOUT DOING THINGS WITHOUT THINKING?"

"I…uh…forgot." Alex grinned weakly. "Whatever. We can worry about that later. Escaping would be a good choice right now."

"We'll discuss this later! And how long is this stupid corridor anyway?" Carylesti cursed again as a dagger flew past her ear. She spun around, her bow arm covered in blood from the arrow earlier. "Who's that?"

Two assassins dropped from the ceiling and advanced on the five of them.

"Aw crap! Why are you guys here? Now is not the time to try to kill me!" Alex looked pleadingly at the assassins, who exchanged glances.

"There is always time to crush incompetence!" Hitori charged at Alex, swinging his twin katars at Alex's neck. Ninoryn followed up by using her other dagger to slash at his legs.

"Hey, it's the two deserters! Get them!" The NightKnife assassins, having successfully killed the demon, spotted Hitori and Ninoryn. "You'll pay for leaving NightKnife."

Hitori and Ninoryn looked at each other and began running for the exit. Alex and the others looked confusingly at each other before following their example.

"I thought you guys worked with NightKnife!" Niklason yelled at Hitori as they were running.

"We had…some moral problems. So we left." Hitori shrugged and pointed at the assassins chasing them. "They weren't that happy. But we still want to kill Alex."

"Glad to see I'm so needed." Alex grumbled and glared at Hitori.

"Tch, you should just be glad that we're in this situation. We would have wiped you out instantly if it wasn't for them." Ninoryn cocked her head at the NightKnife soldiers chasing them.

"We're finally out!" Radella cheered as they finally reached the exit, and the seven of them tumbled outside, savoring the feeling of the sun on their faces.

"Now might be a good idea for a distraction so we can get out of here?" Alex looked hopefully at Elindasin, who had spotted them running out.

"Sorry, I don't have enough energy for anything else." The priest looked hopelessly at them.

"Uh…I might have something." Radella spoke up. "Technically, what I have in mind should work…"

"Give it a shot! Now is not the time to worry about problems." Carylesti clutched her arm dazedly, feeling faint from the loss of blood. Alex and Elindasin supported the huntress and she smiled weakly at them.

"Well…Okay." Radella nodded bravely and launched a series of ice bolts into the entrance, clogging it with ice. "And…" Next, balls of fire formed around her hand and flew at the chunks of ice, instantly evaporating it and causing the steam to fog up the area. "Is that good?"

"Perfect!" Alex grinned at Radella as he helped Elindasin carry Carylesti back towards Payon. Hitori and Ninoryn looked at each other again before following the rogue.

"Hey, where'd you learn that?" Niklason looked at Radella while they headed back.

"It was just something I thought up while I was studying. I'm just glad it works." Radella smiled.

"Heh…You're really good at this studying stuff." The swordsman grinned at Radella and they ran to join the others.

* * *

"Well…We made it. Now, we just have to hope they won't find us and assassinate us." Elindasin paced around the room they were hiding in. Carylesti was lying on a couch nearby, a bandage around her arm. Alex was sitting next to the huntress, idly whistling. Niklason was tapping his foot impatiently, looking out the window for any signs of NightKnife. Radella, as usual, had her face buried in another book. Ninoryn and Hitori were leaning against a wall.

"Hmph. Looking at your group, it's surprising that you guys aren't dead yet." Ninoryn ran an appraising eye over the five friends. "I can't believe we lost to you."

"Now, now, Ninoryn. Don't forget, it was only with the mage's help that we were able to escape." Hitori tried to placate Ninoryn.

"Yeah! And don't you forget it!" Niklason glared at the assassin. "Sheesh! Why'd you pick that time to ambush us?"

"Hey, it was convenient, okay? We were already there to get out things out. So, when we saw you guys, it seemed like as good a time as any." Hitori shrugged. "But enough of this. Since you guys rescued our hides, it seems only fair we don't kill you right now. So, adios, and we'll be back to finish our job."

"Yeah, and we'll do it right next time! Quickly and silently!" Ninoryn smirked at them, pressing her fingers against her daggers. The two assassins left the room and quickly disappeared in the crowd outside.

"Nice people. Glad to have them stalk us." Alex sighed as he leaned back on the couch. "Well, now that we got that list, what should be our next move? I don't think busting them all right away is smart. Plus, we're already wanted by them."

"Then what should we do? I suppose the great Alextrazos of Payon has a plan?" Niklason cocked an eye at the rogue, speaking in a mocking tone.

"Yes…As a matter of fact, I do." He beckoned to the others. They all walked up to him. "Now…This is what we'll do." He lowered his voice, speaking in a conspiratorial voice. "We…are going to disguise ourselves…And join NightKnife."

**"…WHAT?"**

* * *

Chris: Sorry for the long delay. Got distracted because of games, my other stories, and all that stuff. I'll try to speed up a bit. And I hope I didn't mess anything up with NightKnife. It's hard writing about a criminal guild. 


	10. Infiltrating NightKnife, Part 1

Chris: Finally I'm updating this. Thanks to all who waited patiently. Oh, and I updated the character profiles as well.

**Tom Valor: **Thanks for the compliments, and I'll try to remember all the stuff you've told me.

**Crove: **Glad you like it, and here's an update for you.

**Kaori: **Whoo! It's the person who read Tom Valor's fic! Glad you like it so far, and I hope you continue to read!

**Zhang Kai? That's Me: **Hmm…It might have been. I dunno, really. But thanks for the compliments.

**Northernsword: **Thanks and glad you like it.

Oh, and if you're wondering why I took so long…Call it lack of motivation and laziness. And other stories…And games…And original stories…And school…And basically everything.

Disclaimer: Don't own RO. Don't own the CT series, because Tom Valor does. Read his fics.

* * *

**Chapter 9: Infiltrating NightKnife, Part 1**

"NO WAY!" Niklason folded his arms crossly, glaring at Carylesti, who was holding a bottle of hair dye. "I am not going to die my hair to…his color! It reminds me of thieves!" He pointed at Alex, who was smirking at the swordsman's predicament.

"Heheh." Alex shrugged and smiled. "Not my problem. If you were a little swifter, you might not have been robbed. Idiot."

"HEY!" Niklason shouted. "Fine! If I have to get my hair dyed, you have to get your hair shaved! You're going bald!"

"…I'm not doing that!" Alex straightened from his place at the wall, looking enraged. "How could you even think of shaving my hair?"

"Because I can!"

"BE QUIET! You two are acting like three-year olds!" Carylesti shouted with all her might and drowned out the bickering swordsman and rogue. "Look, Niklsaon. If we want to do this, you're going to have to dye your hair into another color! We can't be too certain that they didn't recognize you when we were escaping!" She whirled towards Alex. "And you! Stop razzing him! And secondly, while we aren't going to make you bald, we are going to do something else!" She held up a small tuft of hair.

"Say hello to your new mustache."

"…Crap."

"Bwa ha ha ha!" Niklason burst out laughing. "You're going to look like a fool!"

The huntress walked up to Niklason. "You're not going away unscathed either." She waved a bottle of red hair dye in front of his face. "In ten minutes, I expect to see you as a redhead, got it?"

"Dammit." Niklason took the bottle grumpily and left to dye hair red. Radella giggled at his dejected figure and flipped another page of her book.

"Let's see how those two turn out before we design our own costumes." Carylesti smirked and placed her hands on her hips.

"Okay." Radella nodded.

"Hey, what about me?" Elindasin spoke up from his little corner.

"Eh…" Carylesti scratched her cheek. "I'm not sure you'd be a great candidate for going, brother. So…I don't think you're going to be coming."

"Why not?" Elindasin's eyes flared. "I'm just as good as fighting as the rest of you!"

"I know, I know!" The huntress held up her hands. "Look, it's just that…you can't lie."

"I can lie!" Elindasin protested. "Come on, little sister, you've got to let me come! Who else is going to watch out for you?"

Carylesti let out a heartfelt sigh. "That's another problem. If you get too protective of me, NightKnife might think there's something amiss. After all, we're supposed to be acting as hardened people looking for a job. We can't let them think we're scared, okay?"

"Weeeell…" The priest scratched his head, mulling over her argument. "I don't know…"

"Okay, how about this? If you can lie to me, then you can come with us." Carylesti offered.

"Deal!" Elindasin's eyes brightened.

"Okay, tell me what we did today." Carylesti said.

"Uh…Hmmmm…We…uh…" The red-haired priest thought about it. "Oh…I can't think of anything."

"That's what I mean, Lindy. You can't lie. And you're a little too hot-tempered too."

"Don't call me Lindy!" Elindasin's eyes flared again. "But what can I do? I don't like feeling helpless while my sister is risking her life!"

"Well, if we're in trouble, we'll need someone to teleport us out. Think you have a spell for that?"

"Not at the moment, but I'm pretty certain I can rig something up." Elindasin said. "Maybe…" He walked off to study his spells, shaking his head. "Sheesh…Little sisters…"

"Sigh…Big brothers…" Carylesti shook her head as well. She turned to where Alex and Niklason had departed. "Yo, you guys done yet?"

"I am…And I am not happy about this!" Alextrazos entered again, his face glum.

"Nobody asked you to be happy, twinkletoes. You're getting a reprieve from jail because of this, so you better do it. And I like the mustache. Fits you well." Carylesti stared at the rogue, who fingered the lip hair dismally.

"I don't know…" Alex muttered. "And how will this stay on?"

"Eh, don't worry. I have magician friends in the militia department that made certain that it'd stay throughout our mission. When you want it off, then just go ask them to remove the charm on it." Carylesti said.

"Gosh, that seems like kind of a useless spell…"

"The magicians who put that spell on the mustache could easily turn you into a pile of ash, so I'd watch my mouth around them if I were you."

"Ooooh…Right….If they can hit me, of course." He smirked. "I'm the best rogue there is." He started juggling five coins that he pulled out of nowhere. "One coin for the poor, one coin for the rich, one coin for the sly, one coin for the honest, and one coin for me!" He flipped the coins into a small leather bag tied at his waist.

Carylesti stared at Alex. "Hmm…I don't know if the magic is good enough. After all, they should recognize you since you used to be a NightKnife member. We'll need to change some other things."

"Like what?" Alex said, looking at the huntress nervously.

"Hmm…We'll probably have to make you a silver-blond. Yeah…Your brown hair is too noticeable. Especially that little streak of red in the back. We can't do anything about height yet, so you're still going to have to remain tall, but there are a lot of tall people, so that's cool. Now…About the eyes…I don't know if we have the ability to change those." Carylesti muttered.

"Oh? The eyes are easy." Alex searched through his pockets. "I'm pretty certain I had something here…" He continued searching. "Guess not…I could always wear goggles though."

"No, no…They'll be suspicious and wonder why you're covering up your eyes like that. You can wear them if you want, however. And I think we should change your usual attire." Carylesti commented.

"What's wrong with my clothes? I mean, it's just a loose tunic over some leather armor. And a pair of jeans." Alex said.

"I'm talking more about the straw hat. I don't want you to wear that while we're there. Ever."

"Hmph. I think you're being too cautious. If we're in trouble, you can count on me to get us out of it." Alex said, but he complied and threw his hat somewhere in the house.

"Actually, I think _I'm_ the one that will get us out of whatever trouble we encounter." Niklason walked in, holding the bottle of hair dye in his hand. "Here you go, Carylesti." He tossed it to the huntress. "I'm not sure I like being a redhead."

A hand reached out and grabbed the bottle in mid-air. "Hah!" Alex flipped the container in his hand and nudged his newly-worn goggles on his head. Grabbing the bottle of silver-blond hair dye from Carylesti, he applied it liberally on his brown hair, which soon became the desired color.

"Who the hell are _you_?" Niklason shouted.

"See Alex? The costume works!" Carylesti said, slapping the rogue on the back.

"Bah, I knew it was him the whole time. The shock of the mustache kind of got to me, though." Niklason said.

"Really? I think it makes me looked distinguished." Alex mused, stroking it.

"I think it makes you look like an _idiot!_"

"Now, now, Niklason. Don't be sore because my disguise is so much more better than yours." Alex laughed and patted the swordsman on the head condescendingly. Niklason swung a fist at the rogue but Alex caught it before it could connect.

"Sigh…Looks like we're all ready then." Carylesti threw her hands up in helplessness.

"Hey, what about your costumes?" Niklason turned his attention from Alex to look at the huntress. She thought about it for a second before shrugging.

"I dunno. I've always wanted short hair though…I guess this'll be as good a time to try it out as any. I don't know if I should change my hair color."

"Make your hair blond. It'll match your personality." Alex commented, smirking.

Carylesti turned to Alex, smiling serenely, which scared the rogue a lot more than if she had been angry. She winked at the now silver-blond haired rogue. "That's a good one, Alex. However, I do have the power to send you to jail." Her voice turned to a low growl. "You wouldn't want me to get angry and accidentally send forms that get you transferred to Prontera, where their jails are a lot more secure and tough, right?"

"I got it, I got it! Didn't say a word!" Alex said half-heartedly, sweating slightly. "I'll just go mind my own business."

"You go do that." Carylesti muttered angrily. "And make one more crack about changing my hair to blond and I'll kill you."

"I'd listen to her. She's in one of her 'moods'." Elindasin cautioned, eying his sister warily. "Last time I bothered her, she threatened to get me kicked out of church."

"I see…" Alex muttered.

"What are you talking about?" Carylesti whirled around to face the two.

"Uh…Nothing! Nothing!" Alex said frantically. "Nothing at all! Let's go, Elindasin! We'll wait for you outside!" He grabbed the priest's hand and immediately rushed outside of the house with Elindasin in tow.

"Hmph…" The huntress muttered to herself. "Come on, Radella. We're gonna get some extra supplies and more stuff for our costumes." She smiled. "After all, I'm the militia leader! I should get some extra bonuses."

"Uh…Where are we going?" Radella asked, quickly pocketing her little book.

"Where do you think we're going? We're going shopping!" Carylesti said cheerfully as she dragged Radella along with her.

Niklason watched them leave and shrugged. He wasn't involved and didn't _want_ to be involved because the last time Radella had wanted to go shopping, he was stuck carrying the packages. He wasn't certain if Carylesti was the same…But chances were that she was. It would be most beneficial for him if he didn't make any sounds. The swordsman sat on the couch and lay on his back, sighing deeply.

'_Oooh boy...This is going to be great.' _Niklason thought sarcastically to himself.

_---_

An hour, Niklason, Radella, Carylesti, Alexstrazos stood in front of a popular Payon tavern, with Sylvia at their side. The blacksmith, once alerted of their plans, wanted to join them and finally they relented, on the condition that she wouldn't do something extremely stupid.

"What exactly are we doing here? Don't tell me you want a drink." Niklason said scornfully, looking at Alex with his arms folded.

"Fine. I don't want a drink." Alex replied. "I know that some NightKnife recruiters go to taverns to scout out any prospective guild members. So, if we just hint that we're looking for work, we should be fine."

"Not bad." Niklason said grudgingly.

"And I wanted a drink."

"…" Niklason glared at the rogue before entering, feeling slightly uncomfortable in his new clothes. Instead of his usual attire of a loose shirt, leather armor, and brown pants, he was decked out with black chain mail that was slightly concealed by a rough, brown jacket and he was wearing black pants and thick, belted boots. The chain mail itched him, the boots were annoying, and all-in-all, it was a bad experience.

Alex, on the other hand, was enjoying his disguise immensely. With his silver-blond hair and the goggles on his head, along with the sweeping dark-blue cloak he was wearing, he radiated an aura of fashion and mystery. He adjusted his goggles again and followed the swordsman, trying to look hardened and rough.

Carylesti and Radella exchanged glances at each other before entering as well. The huntress had made good on her vow and cut her hair so it just reached her shoulders instead of the middle of her back. Her hair color was now a stark-black and she carried a multitude of daggers around her waist and her bow was on her back. Her clothing hadn't changed much, but she wore a cape over her bow and her fingers constantly fiddled with the knife handles, as if she was wishing that she could use them immediately.

Radella, on the other hand, had her outfit changed dramatically, but her hair color remained the same. She wore a black headband and a small, blue choker around her neck. Her hands were covered by black, elbow length gloves, and she wore a long, brown skirt and a normal, blue shirt.

Sylvia entered last, the only change being that she had tied her hair in a ponytail and had switched her normal white shirt with a set of leather armor and a green coat. She made sure her axe was at her side before settling down in one of the stools.

Alex, since he was the only one of the group that actually knew how the NightKnife recruitment process went, took the lead, scanning the crowd with an appraising eye, separating the drunkards from those that were only faking it. A couple of minutes passed and Alex finally located his quarry, sitting at a corner table and nursing a cold flagon of beer. Occasionally, the recruiter would lift the mug up to his lips, but he would never take a drink.

Alex grinned slightly to himself. If all went well, he wouldn't even have to break a sweat. Banging on the counter loudly, he called for the barkeep.

"Hey, idiot. Give me some of your best stuff." Alex grumbled in a voice carefully calculated to draw the recruiter's interest. He looked at the others and turned back to the barkeep. "And some beer for the rest of my friends here. We're thirsty and tired."

The barkeep mumbled compliance with the order before leaving the companions to themselves. Alex took another look at the recruiter and smiled inwardly as he saw that the NightKnife member had shown an interest, how slight it might be. He turned to Niklason and nudged him roughly.

"Hey, Rantelon, stop shoving me." Niklason said angrily, calling Alexstrazos by the fake name they had concocted for him. "You got most of the pay from our last job, so don't go bothering me for my zeny."

"Ahhhh shut up, moron. If you had any brains, you'd be leading this outfit, Wetran, not me." Alex scoffed and looked at the barkeep. "Hey! Hurry up with that!"

"Hmph, if I was leading this outfit, I would be able to get us work, bastard. We've been starving ever since you began hoarding the cash." Niklason retorted, snarling slightly.

"You think I'm not leading you guys well enough?" Alex cocked an eyebrow at Niklason. "Listen, buddy. I'll be getting us work soon enough, so just sit down, shut your trap, and act like the good, little mercenary everyone knows you aren't."

When the barkeep finally arrived with their drinks, Alex tugged on the man's dirty sleeve. "Hey, can you help us?" The rogue slowly slid out a thousand-zeny piece out of a bag at his waist and slowly slid it to the barkeep. He shot a look at Niklason and looked back at the barkeep, noticing the intelligent gleam in the man's eyes.

"I'm not sure I can help you, sirs…"

"No, I'm pretty certain you can." Alex retorted, whispering. "Listen, we need work and we don't care what kind it is. As long as it's steady, pays well, and we get in a little action time to time, you can count on our prowess. So, do you have anything?"

"…I might just have one, sir." The barkeep slowly pocketed the thousand-zeny piece and walked over to the NightKnife recruiter. Alex looked at them from the corner of his eye, trying to catch strains of their conversation. The disguised rogue smiled as he saw the recruiter stand up and head up to them.

"I hear you're looking for work." The tall, silver-haired man sat next to him, looking at Alex and his companions. "All of you?"

"Yeah." Alex narrowed his eyes. "What's it to you?" The rogue's hand lowered to his dagger. "And I wouldn't think of drawing that knife you have hidden in your pocket."

The recruiter smiled. "Ah…Quick…I think I have a solution to your problems."

"Yeah? And what's that?" Alex asked lazily, but inside, he was cheering.

"How would you like to join…NightKnife?"

"Hmmm…" Alex said thoughtfully. "I've heard rumors of that guild…Very well. You've got yourself a deal and five new recruits." The rogue brushed back some of his hair and smiled. Part one of their plan had just been completed.

* * *

Chris: Well, there you go! Once again, I'm truly sorry for the delay and I hope this kind of makes up for it! Hopefully, I'll be able to update this at a constant schedule soon. Probably once a week or something.

And if I messed up the recruiting scene...Oops.


	11. Infiltrating NightKnife, Part 2

Chris: Yes, I haven't updated this in forever. Problems include my computer crashing, having absolutely no ideas on how to start the chapter, and the chapter in general. However, I managed to work away around it and hopefully you'll see this update faster since I'll be concentrating on this fic a lot, lot more now.

* * *

**Chapter 10: Infiltrating NightKnife, Part 2**

Cafranel grimaced as he walked around the abysmal knight's camp. He wanted to fight, but because of some deal that was struck, he was forbidden to ride toward Prontera and kill his former commander. He clenched his fists in rage, his nails biting into his skin. He barely noticed the pain, however. All of his thoughts were focused on when his former commander betrayed all of them. All for the sake of two novices. One of them was dead, but the other…Cafranel vowed that he would kill her. He could never rest until her ripped and mangled body lying in front of him. She would pay for driving Agranias mad.

His mind was made up. He would find her and kill her in the lull of the fighting. He wasn't commanding any troops anyway, so he was certain that Aelumina would let him go. If she didn't, he would leave to kill the novice anyway. Cafranel stomped towards their new captain, who turned at the distraction.

"Aelumina!" Cafranel shouted, not bothering with niceties. "I need to speak with you."

"What is it?" The captain of the abysmal knights looked at Cafranel, her eyes narrowed.

"Give me permission to hunt down that novice girl! I can't rest until her blood coats my axe!" Cafranel roared angrily, his eyes flashing with hate.

"Fine." Aelumina waved the abysmal knight away, distracted slightly. "You're not an important member of the attack, so you have leave to do whatever you want."

"Thank you." Cafranel bowed briefly before heading towards where his horse was stabled. Along the way, however, he was stopped by a fellow abysmal knight.

"The Enraged Executioner…"

"What is it, Ixyll? I'm busy." Cafranel snapped, infuriated by the delay.

"I heard what you plan to do. Do you even know where the novice is?" Ixyll said.

"It doesn't matter! I _will_ find her!" Cafranel roared, taking his axe and slamming it into the ground.

"Let me help you out." Ixyll offered. "I happen to know where your quarry is right at this moment."

"Tell me! But if you steer me wrong…" Cafranel let the warning fade.

"Trust me. I'm just as dedicated as you are to the eradication of the girl. I just trust your greater strength to do it for me." Ixyll seemed to smile. "The girl you seek is in Payon."

"At last! Revenge!" Cafranel roared in triumph, setting out immediately towards the forest town. Ixyll watched him leave, his eyes glinting.

_---_

"Okay, there's a couple of things I need to warn you about the NightKnife trials. First of all, don't even _think_ of disobeying any of their commands. They wouldn't hesitate to kill you." Alexstrazos coached. The NightKnife recruiter had given them the remaining part of the day to get ready for the trials in the morning. Alex took this time to train his friends about how to handle themselves in NightKnife territory.

"I'm not surprised." Carylesti grimaced. "What else is there?"

"The tests consist of three trials. Failing these is okay, they'll just turn you away, not kill you. However, after that, there is an "initiation ceremony". This is the part where they'll kill you if you do anything remotely bad. First, and this isn't my idea, you have to strip. As in all the way through. As in no clothes whatsoever."

"**_What?_**" Niklason exploded, standing on his feet. "That's crazy!"

"Even if it is, you can't say anything. Just look straight ahead, don't move, and don't act impatient. Just…act like dolls or something. Don't do _anything_." Alex warned in a low voice. "Any movement, any actions, anything will get you killed. After waiting for quite a while, the master of ceremonies will come and claim one of us is a traitor. Do not hesitate, whether the traitor be me, Niklason, Carylesti…It doesn't matter. They'll give us knives and we must attack the traitor. However, before we can actually kill the guy, they'll stop us."

"Phew…That's good." Sylvia breathed. "But this is very dangerous. I know as a fact that Niklason and Radella aren't fit for this. They're too young."

The two of them exchanged glances. Niklason looked defiant while Radella was just worried. The mage sighed. "Maybe she's right. We really haven't _killed_ people, you know? Can we do this?"

"Of course we can!" The swordsman answered confidently. "This is for the good of the community. Besides, if we think we can't handle this stuff, we can always fail the first three tests, right?"

"Maybe…" Alex answered uneasily. "If they knew you weren't giving it your all, they might kill you anyway. But for the tests, remember, this is a thieving and assassination guild. They require subtlety, cunning, good senses, and loyalty. Elindasin, you're ready, right?"

"As ready as I can get. However, after this, I will need to depart for Prontera. This is the third day of the break and I must report back to lend a hand." The red-haired priest nodded.

"Okay." Carylesti nodded. "Everyone, get a good sleep. We'll need it for tomorrow. Good luck and may victory be ours."

_---_

"Nick?"

The disguised swordsman paused in his pacing, looking around. It was late at night and pretty much everyone was asleep. He reached for the handle of his sword, suspicious. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Radella." The mage walked down to the inn's common room to join the swordsman. She gave a small sigh and plopped down on one of the couches. "Why are you still awake?"

"Same reason as you, probably." He said, sitting down next to his friend. "Are you feeling okay?"

Radella nodded, but she shook her head right afterwards. She sighed and looked down at the ground, her eyes shadowed. "No…I'm so worried, Nick. We might die. I can't sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I see one of us getting killed through one minor mistake. I can't stand it."

"You don't have to come." Niklason said.

"If I don't go, they might get suspicious. After all, they saw five people that could join the guild. If I'm not there, they could believe that I went to get the militia or something. You all could be killed just because I got cold feet at the last minute." Radella sniffed and Niklason noticed that she was crying. "Just like Rakthos…"

"What are you talking about? His death wasn't your fault."

"If I hadn't asked him to continue training with me, maybe he wouldn't have died that day. He didn't have to protect me. I could have done something." The mage ignored Niklason's protests. "I was so weak…I was the reason he died. I should have continued fighting with him."

"But you would have died also!" Niklason shouted.

"So? At least I would have died with him. And you wouldn't be friends with a coward like me. Everything would be better. I know I'm going to mess up tomorrow and cause more people to die. It's my fate to be the cause of other people's deaths."

"Don't be stupid!" Niklason grabbed Radella by the shoulders and shook her. "I don't know what I would have done without you. You've helped me out so many times in the past. Heck, if you weren't with me, I might have died against those wolves or snakes. Trust me, Radella. You won't mess up."

"Really?" She sniffed. "…But I can't help thinking that I'll mess up."

"Then stop thinking like that. You're a smart girl, Radella. Don't let the past mess up the present." Niklason smirked. "Come on, we need some sleep. We have to be ready for tomorrow, okay?"

"Right." She nodded. "Thanks for your help, Nick. I feel a lot better now."

"You're welcome." Niklason smiled and started back up on the stairs.

Radella watched him go when she realized he never answered her question. "Hey, Niklason, why were you down here anyway?"

He paused and looked back down at her, the smile still on his face. "Nothing important. Come on, it's time to sleep."

_---_

The next day, the five of them were assembled at the guild headquarters. The recruiter from earlier met them at the door, his face expressionless. "I'm glad to see there's no one else with you. If anyone else was with you, we might have had to kill you all." He opened the door and allowed the five people inside.

"Follow me." He motioned, seemingly vanishing in the shadows. The five companions walked straight down the hallway, feeling oppressed in the dark and gloomy environment.

They were led into a nearly pitch-black room, the only light coming through a few miniscule cracks in the wall. The door behind them was shut closed and they were left in utter blackness, slightly nervous. However, their resolve was enforced by the fact that Alex had explained all of the trials to them yesterday. In this one, there would be rogues that would steal things from them. Their mission was to detect the rogues.

Niklason clenched his fists and closed his eyes. His sergeant had taught him a method to hone the senses. By closing off some of the senses, the body will heighten the other senses to above average levels. Slowly he breathed in and out, just focusing on sound and touch. He heard the rustle of clothes around him as the rest of his friends used their own methods to complete the trial.

Alex just stood there, waiting. He knew they were coming soon enough and he would be ready. His reflexes were good enough to pass the test the first time through and he had no doubt that they were even better now. He leaned against one of the walls, trying not to act like he knew what was happening. They might get suspicious if they realized that all of them already knew about the trials.

Carylesti, as befitted her station, had good enough senses to know when she was being robbed. Sylvia, with her sharp eyes that she used when crafting weapons, would be able to handle herself.

Radella, on the other hand, had no techniques to hone the senses like Niklason and she didn't have the great reflexes or perception that the others possessed. The only thing she had with her was the faerie that always traveled with her. She opened the pouch that served as the faerie's home and looked down at it worriedly.

'_Please help.'_ She asked worriedly in her mind. The faerie caught on and nodded.

Alex was the first person to notice. He grabbed a stray hand that was reaching for his belt and smiled pleasantly. "I don't like people stealing from me." He released the hand and settled down now that his role was complete.

Carylesti discovered the thievery when she felt someone try to slip off the bracelet she was wearing on her wrist. Grimacing, she looked around. "Hey, whoever's trying to steal from me, quit it."

"I know, it's getting annoying." Sylvia groaned, looking around. "I know you're there. You shouldn't have tried to steal my gloves."

Niklason was too involved in his exercises to rejoice over his comrades' successes. Unbeknownst to him, the rogues that were stealing from him had already made one mistake. He only had one more chance to notice the thievery before having to give up. However, at the last second, his training came through and he swung a punch at where the rogue used to be. "Hey, let go of my things!"

Finally, it was up to Radella. She felt scared because she hadn't noticed anything that went around in the room, other than her friends' cries of amazement. _'I'm going to mess this up. I know it.'_ She looked worriedly down at the faerie, who pointed frantically at her neck. Her hands flew up to her neck and she realized that her blue choker was missing. "Hey, where'd my choker go?"

The doors opened and the recruited stepped inside. "Good work. You passed the first trail. Follow me."

He led them to another room and faced all five of them. "Each of you will answer questions. Depending on your answers, you may progress or we may turn you away."

They all nodded. The recruiter speared Alex with a glance. "Suppose you have just completed a robbery and are being chased by three knights. You run into an alley and find out that it's a dead-end. There is no other exit except the entrance. What do you do?"

"Is the heist at night?"

"No. Broad daylight."

"Easy." Alex shrugged. "Well, the only exit is through the knights, yet it would be foolhardy to fight all three of them. I would assume that I wouldn't have any special equipment?" He waited for the inevitable nod. "It's an alley, right? I might not be strong, but I'm agile enough to leap over their heads and get away quickly enough. Since it's also bright sunlight, I'd probably use the steel of my dagger to shine some of that light in their eyes so they don't see."

"Good. Now, you." He pointed to Carylesti. "Assume that while stealing something, the owner of those valuables notices you. A hanging chandelier lights the place and he's standing in the doorway. Two windows are behind you and you are prohibited from killing the owner. What would you do?"

"Shoot the rope that holds up the chandelier and escape during the commotion." She stated plainly.

The recruiter nodded. He looked at Sylvia. "You've slipped into a rival guild's hideout when you are confronted by three thieves. They are all faster than you and they're all going to alert the others of the guild. If they succeed, there is no doubt that you will die. Your actions?"

"Is there just one passageway?"

"Yes."

"Hmmm…" Sylvia thought. "I probably wouldn't be able to kill them. I…don't know."

"I'm sorry, but you've failed. Someone will escort you outside."

"Sigh…" Sylvia shook her head sadly. "Dammit." She let herself be led out of the guild by a swordsman, leaving the others.

"Now, on to you." He looked at Niklason. "You've just been discovered by a knight, who goes into a berserk rage when he finds out you're stealing his treasured peco peco. He charges you. What do you do?"

'_Crap, I can't think of anything.'_ Niklason thought frantically. "Where am I? The stables?"

"Yes."

'_How can I do this?'_ He grimaced, but smiled when an idea came to him. "Since he's pretty much in a berserk rage and devoid of common sense, I'll roll to avoid his first attack and use my sword to trip him. Then, I mount the peco peco and race away."

"…" The recruiter nodded. "Last question." He turned to Radella. "You are on the third floor of a mansion and have to get away without triggering any alarms. However, your backup has not appeared and it's about time for the guards to begin their patrol. You have no butterfly or fly wings and the building is in the center of the city."

"I would…cast ice arrows so they would strike the wall at staggered intervals and slowly climb down the walls. However, I'd direct a couple of lightning bolts to strike the opposite side of the mansion in order to distract the guards and escape."

"Congratulations, you all passed. Now, on to your final test." The recruiter beckoned towards them. "Come with me."

The remaining members looked at each other, relief present in their eyes. However, their victory was underscored by the fact that Sylvia wasn't with them. Would they lose another person before the whole ordeal was over? Especially since the loyalty trial was still in front of them and the reward for failure was death.

* * *

Chris: Hopefully, this chapter was good and fits the overall theme of the NightKnife recruitment process. And everyone was in character. Leave any comments or suggestions if you have any. Reviews are always appreciated. 


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